THE

RELIGION OF THEBRAHMO

/

-:) * (:

HEM CHANDRA SARKAR, M. A; D. D.

:) * (:-

Third Edition.

1931.

^fjX^ 1

ri'';:;:-:ti'<H?N

OF CHICAGO

so A

CLASSIC PRESS,

9r3, EAMANATH MAJUMDAR STREET, CALCUTTA,
PBINTED AND PUBLISHED BY A. C. SARKAB..

N

V

\ '

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

:) * (:

In the course of my missionary tours in
Southern India I have been constantly asked for a
book in which the position and principles of the
Brahmo Samaj could be found and 1 had to admit
that we had no such book . in 'English. It is a
matter of sincere regret that our leaders in the
past did not compile a book of this nature. .We
must still wait for a 'master hand' for adequately
and worthily fulfilling this longfelt want. The
demand, however, is so persistent and legitimate
and presses so keenly on one who has to meet
hundreds of new inquiriers, that I have been com-
pelled, much against my own wishes and' inclina-
tions, to write out the following pages somewhat
hurriedly as a temporary and tentative substitute.
I would have much preferred that seme one more
competent had undertaken the work. Indeed, it
was in that hope that I waited long. My apology,
besides, the pressing demand for such a book is
in the consciousness that in the free and progres-
sive atmosphere of Brahmo thought, there is no
apprehension of any statement of mine being
mistaken for an authoritative, complete of final
exposition of the Brahmo creed. A great assurance
to myself, and I am confident it will be so to
many others, is that Pandit Sivanath Sastri went
through the entire manuscript. I am also indebted
to Mr. V. Ramkrishna Rao who very kindly
corrected the proofs with great care.

,1

CALCUTTA,

HEM CHANDRA SARKAB.
20th Dec., 1906.

TT^RT

4*

This wide universe is the sacred temple of God
Pure mind the place of pilgrimage, Truth the Scripture Eternal
Faith the fountain of religion, love its supreme sacrament,
And self-sacrifice the true asceticism, so say the Brahmos.

THE RELIGION

OF THE

BRAHMO SAMAJ

CHAPTER L
A Historical Sketch of the Brahmo Samaj.

From the earliest times the history of Hinduism
lias been marked by repeated endeavours at movemen
reform. Almost at every epoch there has been
some effort to purge and purify the current religion
:and to establish in its .place the spiritual worship
of the One True God. From the times of the
S/iskis of the Upanishads there has scarcely been
ra generation but, in some part of ludia or other,
some nobly inspired soul has raised his protest
ragainst the idolatry, unspirituality and ceremonial-
ism of the popular religion. Gautama Buddha,
ISTanak, Kabir, Tukaram, Sri-Chaitanya are only a
iew of the more prominent and successful spirits
-amongst a host of religious reformers in the long,
mostly unwritten annals of Hinduism. The Brahmo
Sama] is the latest attempt at religious reform in
Modern India, and Kajah Earn Mohun Eoy a
^direct lineal descendant of the RisMs and saints
of Hindusthan.

THE EELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

A unique
epoch in
Indian
History.

Brahmoism
the Eeligion

Humanity.

Bam Mohun
the Prophet
oftheworld-
Iteligion.

Modern India represents an epoch of great:
interest and importance. In the history of India
it has a unique significance; never before did the-
country pass through such a momentous change
in all spheres of national life. The political, social,
industrial structure of the nation is undergoing a.
radical transformation. Nay, we may say that in
Modern India is being enacted a momentous drama,
of world-wide interest. Now and here, for the
first time in the history of the world, the Eastern
and Western civilisations, like two mighty rivers
after a long parallel march, have at last met:
together at the feet of the Himalayas to give birth
to a truer, fuller, and completer civilisation for
future humanity ; and Brahmoism is the religion-'
of that future humanity born of the union of the
East and the. West. To its founder, Rajah Bam
Mohun Roy, was vouchsafed the sublime ideal of
a universal religion which knew no barriers of
caste; colour, race or nationality but united mea
and women of all classes and countries in the
spiritual' worship of the One Eternal God, the
Creator and Father of all.

t

Ram Mohun Roy was eminently fitted, as though?
by a special ordination of God, to be the prophet,
of this world-religion, in that he combined and*
harmonised in himself the spiritual culture of all
the great existing religions. Born and brought up>
in an orthodox Hindu family and possessed of a
thorough and intimate knowledge of the profound
spiritual culture and vast religious literature of
Hinduism, the Rajah early [in his life came into-

THE RELIGION OF THE BKAHMO SAMAJ.

close contact with Islam and made an earnest
study of its literature. Later in his career, he
made a strenuous and searching study of Christ-
ianity, having learnt Greek and Hebrew in order
to be able to study the Bible in the original. He
had also opportunities of being acquainted with
Buddhism in close quarters, having spent some
time in Tibet in search of religious truth in early
manhood when turned out of home by his father
on account of his bold religious speculations.
After a varied and eventful career, in the course
of which he travelled far and wide even beyond
the borders of India to the then unknown Tibet,
learnt sixteen languages and studied the Hindu,
Mahommedan, Jewish and Christian Scriptures
in original, he at length settled down in Calcutta
in 1814, at the age of forty, with the object of
propagating his religion among his countrymen
and the world at large. To this task he consecra-
ted all his resources, time, power and energy.

For fourteen years he laboured on his mission,
,,..,. . ....

delivering his message in earnest conversation to

the circle of friends who clustered round him and
through written discourses to the wider public.
The generality of Hindus and Christians failed to
understand him and attacked him vehemently.
Rajah Earn Mohun Roy tried to silence both by
the authority of their own respective scriptures.
To the Hindu opponent he showed that the most
ancient and authoritative scriptures of Hinduism
enjoined the worship of One Eternal God who
is without form or shape ; to the Christian he

His close

Buddhist,
ma dan and

Earn
Mohun's
Message and
Method.

THE RELIGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Foundation
of the
Brahmo
Samaj.

The first
Congre-
gation.

Bam
Mohun's
Visit to
England and
Death.

proved that the religion of Jesus was the pure
universal Theism of the Fatherhood of God and
the Brotherhood of Man. Single-handed and
under very trying circumstances, he fought against
the assaults of bigoted Hindus and orthodox
Christians to establish the universal religion of
'One God, one humanity*, till at length on the
22nd August, 1828, he succeeded in organising a
weekly meeting for the worship of God irrespec-
tive of caste and creed in a hired house in the
northern part of Calcutta. Two years later, with
the help of some friends, he erected a modest
building for the Theistic Church or the Brahmo
Samaj, as it came to be called, in a central part
of Calcutta ; and this still exists and is known as
the Adi Brahmo Samaj.

Here, week after week, a motley gathering
used to meet for the worship of the One God
without regard to caste, creed or colour. The
worship consisted in reciting verses from the
Upanishads and singing hymns and reading reli-
gious discourses written by Ram Mohun Roy.
Prior to this public service, portions of the Vedas
used to be read by Brahmins in a back-room to
which only Brahmins were admitted. .
. In August 1830, Rajah Ram Mohun Roy
embarked for England, leaving the infant church
in the care of Ram Chandra Vidyabagish. And
there he died on 27th September, 1833. In the
meanwhile, the Brahmo Somaj in Calcutta
gradually languished; most of its members, who
had been drawn to it nainly through the influence

THE EEIJGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

of Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, ceased to take any in-
terest in it after his departure for England. Only
the faithful Ram Chandra Vidyabagish remained
steadfast; and for seven years he regularly and
punctually conducted the weekly service, as
directed by Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, often alone
like the solitary watcher by the dim-burning
pyre at the burning-ghat. At length, help came
from an unexpected quarter. In the year 1838,
Devendra Nath Tagore, the eldest son of Dwarka
Nath Tagore, a friend and fellow-worker of
Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, began to take interest
in the Brahino Samaj. As a boy, Devendra Nath
had often seen Rajah Ram Mohun Roy and
had been, in fact, a pet of his. It is said the
Rajah foresaw that the young boy would grow to
carry on his own life-work. But for many years,
there was no sign of any religious tendency or
interest in Devendra Nath. His early youth was
like that of any other scion of wealthy f amilies.
In the year 1838, however, while attening on his
grand-mother in her last moments at the burning-
ghat, a strange feeling came over him; he
experienced an indescribable joy in the felt
presence of God. The pleasures and riches of
the world appeared trivial to him. From that
time a great change came over his life. He
spent many days in meditation and felt that the
idols they worshipped were not God, that God
was one and could not be perceived by the
senses. Then the memory of Rajah Ram Mohun
Roy came back to him ; he inquired about his

Ministry of
Bam
Chandra
Vidyabagish.

Conversion
of Devendra
Nath Tagore.

THE RELIGION OP THE BEAHMO SAMAJ.

Brahmo Saniaj and sent for its Minister, Ram
Chandra Vidyabagish. Devendra Nath began
to read Upanishads under Ram Chandra Vidya-
bagish and established a society, Tattwabodhini

TheTatwa- Sabha, for the study and diffusion of the ancient

bodhini Theistic literature of India.

The institution, which was at first composed
of the brothers and cousins of Devendra Nath,
began to expand rapidly. Ram Chandra Vidya-
bagish was appointed its minister ; its anniversary
was celebrated with great eclat in 1840. The
Brahmo Samaj at this time was at the lowest
ebb of its life. Fortunately, the Tattwabodhini
Sabha came to its rescue at this juncture. The
members resolved to take charge of it ; the
separate monthly service of the Tattwabodhini
Sabha was discontinued, and they began to attend
the services of the Brahmo Samaj. Through
their youthful energy and enthusiasm the Brahmo
Samaj soon revived ; and a period of great and
growing activity followed. The faithful old
Minister of the Brahmo Samaj, Pandit Ram
Chandra Vidyabagish, had Tat last the satisfaction
of seeing his devotion rewarded. But for his
loyal perseverance, the sapling planted by Rajah
Ram Mohun Roy might have perished in the
dark days following the death of the founder.

Eapidpro- The Brahmo Samaj now passed into the safe

6ss or tri6

Brahmo keeping of Devendra Nath. Drawn by his

Samaj under . n . . j , , o

the fostering influence, many young men joined, the oama].

care of His active mind devised many new measures for

Devendra

Nath. the development of the Samaj. In 1842 the

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

/Tattwabodhini Patrika was founded as the organ
-of the Brahmo Samaj, which exercised a very
powerful influence over the rising generation
-of Bengal. The Brahmo Samaj, up to the time
when Maharshi Devendra Nath Tagore joined it,
was nothing but a motley congregation which
occasionally met together in a half-serious, half-
>comical mood for listening to hymns, recitations
from the Sanskrit Scriptures and religious
-discourses. Their was neither any definite aim
: nor any settled conviction. The noble provision
-of the Trust Deed obout the equal rights of
all without regard to caste, creed or nationality
~was openly violated by disallowing the presence
-of non-Brahmins at the reading of the Vedas ;
-doctrines about idolatry and incarnation were often
preached from the pulpit. No sooner had
Maharshi Devendra Nath joined the Brahmo
-Samaj than he turned his attention to rectifying
these irregularities.

Under his influence and inspiration, it soon Institution oi
developed into a purely theistic congregation, covenant*

a

found that those who came to the service of
the Brahmo Samaj were not inspired and animated
loy one common conviction. In their individual
lives and at their homes, they were idolaters as
much as the ordinary Hindus. In order to make
the Brahmo Samaj a body of men believing in
the One True God and worshipping Him in
truth and spirit only, Devendra Nath drew up
& Brahmo covenant containing a number of vows
^enjoining the renunciation of idolatry, the

and
Initiation,

8

THE EEMGION OF THE BEAHMO SAMAJ.

Nucleus of a

Braluno

community.

Infallibility
of the Vcdas
Discarded.

worship of the One Only God as described ins
the Vedanta and the practice of virtue. Devendra
Nath himself took the lead in being initiatedi
into Brahmoism by Ram Chandra Vidyabagish
by sighing this Covenant in Dec. 1843. Twenty
of Ms friends followed him in this new and
momentous departure. Thus was formed the
nucleus of a Brahmo community; and by 1847"
the number of covenanted Brahmos rose to 767.

Up to this time, Brahmoism was tacitly^
understood to be based on the Upanishads. In
his religious controversies, Rajah Ram Molnm
Roy used to refute the arguments of his Hindu-
opponents by citing passages from the Upanishads-
in support of his views, as, in his controversies-
with Christian opponents, he would refute theirs-
by the authority of the Bible. In order to show^
to his countrymen that all Hindu scriptures,
were not idolatrous, he published some of the
Upanishads in original Sanskrit and also translated!
them into English and Bengali. His followers
took it to mean that he based Brahmoism on
the Upanishads. The religion of the Brahma
Samaj at the beginning was known to be
Vedantism. The doctrine of the infallibility of
the Vedas was tacitly accepted by the Brahma
Samaj. It found a stimulus in the ill-feeling,
against the Christian missionaries which was
at that time raging strong on account of the
conversion of a Hindu lad of a respectable
family into Christianity. Though the genesis of
Devendra Nath's own faith in Brahmoisni was;

THE EEUGION OF THE BRA HMO SAMAJ. 9

'independent of the Upanishads, he had a great
reverence and predilection for them and was
rather disposed to accept v them as the basis of
Brahmoism, rejecting all other Hindu scriptures
including the Samhitas. But by this time a
younger generation had grown up who were not

* ready to accept even the Upanishads as infallible.
The controversy went on in the Brahmo Samaj
for several years. Maharshi Devendra Nath
had the question carefully considered. He sent
four students to Benares to study the four Vedas.
He himself went to Benares to discuss the
question with reputed Yedic teachers. At last
to his great regret, he found that the doctrine
of the infallibility of the Vedas or of the Upani-
shads was untenable and, much against his natural
inclination, he gave it up in 1848 ; thus the

early Vedantic Unitarianism came to be super- .. ^

* Compilation?

seded by natural Universal Theism. Soon after, of Brahmo
he complied a book called the Brahmo Dharma,
a collection of theistic passages from the Upani-
shads dictated by him from memory and taken
down by Babu Akshaya Kumar Dutt, the whole
work being finished in two hours.

All these changes were f omally announced Missionary
-, . i ^ i .c IOCA T-- 1. Activities

during the anniversary lestivai 01 loou, wnicn Devendra

was now being celebrated on the llth of Magh,
the day on which the Prayer Hall at the Chitpore
Koad had been consecrated. The reconstructed
Samaj entered upon a career of great pro-
pagandistic activity. Maharshi Devendra Nath
visited different parts of the country and estab-

10

THE RELIGION OF THE BKAHMO SAMAJ.

Association

of Keshub

Ohandra Sen

-with

Maharshi

Devendra

jSTath.

lished many new Samajes in mofussil towns. He
also trained up a small band of preachers who
carried the message of Brahmoism throughout
Bengal. For several years the work went on
with unabated enthusiasm. In 1857 Maharshi
Devendra Nath retired to the Himalayan regions
near Simla to spend his days in study, meditation
and communion. He had no desire to return
to the bustle and tumult of society.
But at the end of a year and
a half, one day he felt a distinct call to go down
and work among his countrymen, however unpleas-
ant the task might be. Sorely against his will he
came back to Calcutta. The result was a period
of unusual activity and enthusiasm in the Brahmo
Samaj. The sermons he used to deliver at this
time from the pulpit of the Brahmo Somaj kindled
a new fire among the younger generation. Already
during the absence of Maharshi Devendra Nath,|
Babu Keshub Chandra Sen had joined the Brahmo
Samaj. The two kinderd souls soon recognised
each other. Keshub looked upon Maharshi with
unbounded regard and love, and Maharshi rejoiced
at the accession of this gifted young man from a
respectable family and treated him with fatherly
affection aud solicitude. For a time they worker
together in perfect harmony, and their combined
influence created a new life among the younger
generation of Calcutta and Bengal. Hundreds of
young men joined the Samaj. The younger party
threw themselves heart and soul into the work of
propagation. They went about to all parts of the

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ. 11

country preaching the new faith, establishing new
Samajes and gaining many sympathisers for the ca-
use. In 1864, Babu Kesub Chandra Sen visited
Madras and Bombay, and his visit was instrumen-
tal in rousing public interest in the cause in those
parts and as a consequence the Veda Samaj of
[Madras was established in that year and the Prartha-
na Samaj of bombay came into existence in 1867.
The Veda Samaj, after undergoing many reverses
of fortune, was finally transformed into the South-
hern India Brahmo Samaj.

There was also a great development in the caste strictly
faith and practice of the Brahmo Samaj during interdicted,
this period. The Brahmos, though they had ceased
to worship idols, were not able get rid of caste

*

distinctions as yet. On occasions of domestic cer-
emonies, such as, marriages, sraddhas (funeral rites)
<fcc, they had still to submit to idolatrous practices.
Young Keshub and his friends declared that such
association with idolatry was inconisistent and un-
worthy and they^ resolved strictly to abjure idolat-
ry and caste. Maharshi Devendra Nath had alre-
ady shown the way by refusing,* against the unive-
rsal wish of his relatives and to the consternation
of the entire Calcutta society, to perform the srad-
dha of his father according to orthodox Hindu rit-
es in 1846. But so far none had dared to follow
him. Now at last in Keshub and his young friends
he found the men after his mind. He heartily
-sympathised with the new aspirations of the
younger generation ; he himself threw away his First
sacrificial thread. In 18.61, Maharshi Devendra Marriage.

12

THE EEUGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Differences

between

Devendra

Nath and

Keshub

Chandra.

First Inter-
caste Mar-
liage.

iNath married one of his daughters according to
Brahmo rites ; other Brahmo marriages followed.

For a time the progress of the Brahmo Samaj
both within and without, was rapid and .extensive.
But unfortunately within a few years differences
sprang up between Devendra Nath and Keshub.
The immediate cause of the misunderstanding
was in the old ministers of the Brahmo : Samaj
who still retained the sacrificial thread. Keshub
insisted that those who retained these symbols
of idolatry and caste should not be allowed to
officiate as ministers. Maharshi Devendra Nath
felt unwilling to deal harshly with old members
and workers. Keshub was supported by the
younger generation, while the older members,
naturally stood by Devendra Nath. Thus there
grew up two parties, the conservative and the
progressive, in the Brahmo Samaj. Devendra
!Nath at first yielded ; those of the old ministers i
who retained the sacred thread were not allowed
to conduct the service, and in their place two
younger men of the progressive party who had
formally given up caste were appointed as
assistant ministers.

About this time the progressive party solemn-
ised an inter-caste marriage in the Brahmo Samaj.
This further alarmed Maharshi Devendra I^ath.
Soon after, he re-installed the old ministers
consulting the progressive party. They protested
against it. As the sole surviving trustee of the
Samaj, Devendra Nath withdrew all the powers
he had conceded to the younger men, dismissed

THE RELIGION OF THE BEAHMO SAMAJ. 13

them from their offices and removed the
Tattwabodhini Patrika from under their manage-
ment. Babu Keshub Chandra Sen and the gchism.
progressive party tried for some time to preserve
the union and retain their holds on the affairs
of the church by organising Pratinidhi Sabka
or representative association. But, failing in this,
they formed themselves into a separate organisa-
tion called the Brahmo Samaj of India in
November 1866. The bulk of the younger and of the
progressive Brahmos joined the Brahmo Samaj g ama j O f
of India, the work of which was carried on with India.
.great vigour and enthusiasm. Freed from the
restraining Influence of the conservative party
the Brahmo Samaj of India now entered on a
career of reform and expansion all round. The
work of propagation was taken up with laudable
.zeal. Missionaries of the Brahmo Samaj of India
began to visit every part of the country; Books
and pamphlets on Brahmoism were issued in
rapid succession. In 1870, Babu Keshub Chandra
Sen, accompanied by a few friends, paid/ a
Tisit to England, where he was well received
by the British public and succeeded in creating
.a lively interest in the Brahmo Samaj.

Internally also the foundation of the Brahmo
>Samaj of India was followed by many radical Develop-
changes and developments. One important

departure under the Brahmo Samaj of India SamSlj of
was in the direction of greater catholicity. Under
Devendra Nath the Brahmo, Samaj had confined "
itself practically to Hindu influence and in-

THE RELIGION OF THE BEAHMO SAMAJ.

Passing of
Act III of
1872.

Dissatis-
faction for
want of a
constitutionj

spiration. Keshub Chandra Sen gave it a more
universal character. He began to draw upon
the scriptures and living inspirations of all the
principal historical religions of the world..
Devendra Nath, as we have already seen, had
compiled a Manual of Brahmoism from the
Upanishads. Now as a mark of the catholicity
of its principles, a book was published under the
auspices of the Brahmo Samaj of India containing
passages from all religious scriptures. Another
remarkable feature of the Brahmo Sanaa] of India
was the substitution of the vernacular, Bengali,
in place of Sanskrit in Brahmo liturgy. Greater
simplicity and spontaneity were allowed in the
divine services. Individual lives as well as
prayer meetings were marked by greater
devotional fervour. Sentiments about prayer,
repentence and conscience gained wider currency
in the Samaj. Of all these developments
Keshub Chandra Sen was the soul. Under his
leadership, the progresive Brahmos moved the
Government of India to clear up the uncertainty
as to the legality of the Brahmo marriage and
got a law passed in the year 1872, thenceforth
known as Act HE of 1872, which laid down
fourteen as the minimum marriageable age for
women and eighteen for men.

Things went on well for sometime, Bui
ultimately Keshub Chandra Sen also failed to-
retain the confidence of the entire growing body
of his followers. Within the Brahmo Samaj of
India, again, there appeared a progressive section

THE RELIGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ. 15

rhich did not like the latter-day autocratic
lethods of Keshub Chandra Sen. They clamoured
or representative organisations for conducting the
rork of the Samaj and for more radical reform
u.. social jlif e, specially as regards the position of
ivomen. Under an apparently smooth and prosper-
us surface, there was a strong pent-up dissatis-
action with the methods of Keshub and his
mmediate entourage.

At this juncture, there happened a fateful The Cooch
vent in the history of the Brahmo Samaj. In r i ao - e .
he beginning of 1878, the Brahmo community
tvas taken by surprise at the intelligence of the
proposed marriage of the eldest daughter of Babu
Keshub Chandra Sen with the young Maharaja of
Cooch Behar. Both the bride and the -bride-groom
were below the minimum marriageable age, four-
een and eighteen respectively, fixed by Babu
Keshub Chandra Sen himself and adopted by the
Jrahmo community. The bridegroom was not a
Brahmo; and it was rumoured that the marriage
was to be celebrated according to the idolatrous
Hindu ritual of the Cooch Behar Raj family.
Earnest protests poured in from many Samajes
and individual Brahmos, expressing the widespread
concern of the whole Brahmo community. It was
ieared that such a compromise with the principles
of the Brahmo Samaj by its leader and minister
would discredit and ruin the cause irretrievably.
Babu Keshub Chandra Sen gave no heed to the
protests and proceeded in person to Cooch Behar
to celebrate the marriage. When it actually came-

16

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

The second
Schism.

Inaugura-
tion of the
:Sadharan
Brahmo
Samaj.

off, it was found that most of the requirements
of a Brahmo marriage were dispensed with and
there were other features highly objectionable in
the eyes of the Brahmos.

As Babu Keshub Chandra Sen returned from
Cooch Behar, the protesters wanted to move a
vote of censure against him at a meeting of the
Brahmo Samaj of India ; but Babu Keshub
Chandra Sen, who was the Secretary of the Samaj,
foiled their attempts by putting obstacles in the
way of holding the meeting. They, however, passed
a resolution at a meeting of the congregation
deposing him from the office of Minister. But
Babu Keshub Chandra Sen did not give any heed
to the constitutional laws of the Samaj and forcibly
retained the post of Minister with the help of the
Police. The protesters in despair and indignation
formed themselves into a separate organisation,
called the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, the work of
which would be carried on according to strictly
constitutional methods.

The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj was formally
inaugurated at a public meeting held in the Town
Hall of Calcutta in May 1878. The majority oi
the mofussil Samaj es associated themselves with
it. The first care of the new organisation was
to provide against the possibility of the assump-
tion of all power by one person, enabling him to
set at naught the views and opinions of the

entire body, as had been the case on the occasion
of both the schisms. A thoroughly representative

THE BEUCttON OF THE BBATTMO S'AIVfXJ. 17

constitution' was j given -to 'the : new i: body. l ' ! 1?he
governing body ; was to be ' elected anniially ; by
the votes of the entire 'body of members; ; The
mofussil Samajes Were -entitled to send their repre-
sentatives to the governing body. The new orga-
nisation soon became the-main channel of ; Theistic
life 'sind-'%6rk i: 'in ;; India; : By 1^8(^ i; -a ; spacious
Grayer Ha'H in the central part of Calcutta ; was ;

Babu Keshub Chandra -Sen and those Branmos Eenewed
who remained -with 'him' 'also redoubled u their K- PC! }mh

^energy. ; They were in possession l of' the 'Prayer Chandra
Hall and all ^ the properties and resources of ' the
-old 'united Samaji and had thus a great advantage
over the new orgaMsationV Moreover^ - almost ; ; all
the old missionaries, personally very much attached
to Bal?u Keshub ' Chandra ! Seii, stood by 'him.
With their loyal c6 r -bperati6n he sent out mission
f! parties to different parts of the country. 'He also

introduced mairiy nb vet mystic forms of religious
practice ; and inV 1880 : he changed the name of

his' Church into ; the i{ New Dispensation 9 and

- " ."

selected twelve of his missionaries to be called
the Apostles of the New Dispensation. His
unique career, however, was ' soon cut short by

.the hand of death. 'The strenuous labours of the Keshnb'

^ , .j, ., .(.',;"'... .j< T t , i .' . death.

j past years and the pain caused by the secession

;0 of - the majority c3? Brahmos and Brahmo Samajes
p and by the 'internal 1 dissensions among his own

* ' " - '1 - - : - ; - - . * ' . ' .

missionaries toWr heavily on his health ; and in
January 1884 he passed away from this world.
After his death, the Church of the New Dispen-

2

18 %gB .

<)E .! THE BRAHMO

Progress
under the
Sadharan
Brahmo
Samaj.

Cation ^ee^ine , still more disorganised. Thsriapostles?
and missi^naries, could not agree among themselves^
But though , the rconrmon organisation has broken
down, many, of the missionaries have been; in$yi-
dually carrying on : ? t^e work with exemplary:
.demotion .and self-sacrifice. .

The fouuqfotion of the Sadharan JSrahmo
Was .marked by another- outburst of propagandist
activity There was a general enthusiasm; among the
Brahmo public^ Many new jcpngregatipns were
organise^ i . and . old congregations drawn- closer,
forming ; an influential ,Church. ; , Several new and
powerful institutions were sjtarte^ jun (Calcutta, which
have ever since- been doing, valuable work .in ithe
field of , , religious anjj sqcial reform- The organir

sation , of the Brahmo Sanaa] seems now <to have at

: %<* - ' ' ' '. ' ' - ......

last f pund a stable, form,, ^Tore than thirty years
have elapsed since the r formation of the Sadharan
Brahmp Samaj,, But, .wtere.as the previous thirty
years witnessed two violent and disastrous schisms,
,the subsequent history has been. i pne of smooth,,
steady growth. In the. free,. atmosphere of ; a pro-
gressive churcli h^.e- the Brahmo Samaj, -. differences
of opinion are inevitable and natural. Suc]i differ-
jences there undoubtedly are among the members of
the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj ; but with its broach
liberal, representative cpustitutipn founded on the
principle of unity in essentiais, difference , in non-
essentials and charity . in . _ ally men and women . of
all shades of Theistic belief have found it possible to
co-operate for the glory of Grod and the: good of

CHAPTER II.

. ; . - ."; : - ,..-. , God. , ; "- . ; :

The conception of Grpd ; i the central point in TheBrahmo
religion. Every form - ( of -religion starts with its own of God.
conception, 'of God. The very first question which
the inquirer asks and on the proper understanding
of whieli all further -, exposition depends is, " What
is the Brahmq. conception of,, God.

The question of the nature of God is almost as Can God be
old as humanity itself; but. the ., answer is by no known '
means easy, aM it has beeTa "made less so by the
many speculations that have 'Become, T'by common
usage or the; ingenuity othe philosophers, associated
with -it. One of the most ancient difficulties per-;
ceived to feeset -this" problem is the plea, which has
found such / powerful and popular ; expositors in
I modern times in thinkers like Spencer and .Huxley,
that God, even il J0[e ;exists, cannipt be known,
the Infinite by its very definition transcending > the
powers of human understanding. The ancient Eishis
of India clearly recogniseid this aspect of the Divine
nature. Theysaid, . ..; ;..../; . .

"From whom speech 'with thought 'turns away without

... . ^ . (

finding (an end)/' The Brahino SaMaj, in its protest
against ; the ^"ethnic, anthropomorphic anid finite cencep-
tions of God, is sometimes believed to have played

'- . - - . .. . J - . . - .', A ^ , - . - t , T ..... f .-

into the hands of the 'Agnostics. It is argued, that

20 THE EEUGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

as the Bralimo holds his God to be Eternal and
Infinite, transcending speech and thought, He cannot
be known. ; -^?"-; -

Agnostic. ^ke modern mind seems too much over-awed

by the agnostic plea. It: is commonly believed, and
perhaps not unoften apprehended even by the
adherents of Theism, that the Agnostic argument has,
for ever, undermined the basis of faith in God. But
the legitimate demands of the Agnostic do -not in the
least touch the theistic position. The ancient the
logians of India will be found to 'have disposed
of the Agnostic objection once -for all in ohe'brief
conclusive sentence, '' " ' ' - ;

"It is not that :' I know Him well, nor is it that I do
not know Him.: He among us who' knowsithe
meaning of the proposition that! I know Him and yet
do not know Himj^-he Snows Him." A more satis-
factory and conclusive 1 reply to the- Agnostic ;can
hardly be imagined. God Indeed; is -infinite; transcends
all- powers of speech and thought; finite intelligence
cannot "cotmprehened him. :- Yet ; it cannot be said
that we- ; do not -know Him. The Infinite is not a
blank to the human intelligence. When we speak of
the Infinite^, the? -concejitionrfjefpte i>ur mind is not one
of perfect void, nothingness, nor is it a mere negation.
We know that the Infinite is not finite, we dp not
confound the Infinite with any finite .thing, However
grand or sublime. In fact, the conception of the
Infinite is as positive in our, thought .as that of the

THE EEUGION OF THE BEASMO : SAMA J: 21

finite ;;. only,;, the expression is; necessarily negative.
The .limits I of the sky, for example, the human : senses
do: not see, nor can ever see; neither even tin imagina-r
tion can we picture the end of space; but ,we do-not
therefore ;say that we; do notfeaow -thelsky or spaced
God* .: as /the .Infinite, . transcends : the powers < of finite
intelligence::.'^ man's ; mind; cannot comprehened him ;
yet : it is perfectly j legitimate tpt hold ,tha.t : ';: our mind
knows r Him, apprehends;rBiim,tto,uehes Him.'at certain
points. The Infinite embraces the /finite -within itself,
though ultimately extending, far [beyond it. The
Brahmo, therefore, in- perfect confidence declares with
the Hishis of the IJpanishads. , ; ,

"It is not that I know Him well, nor is. it , that
I do notiknow Him. IEe ; among us w ; ho knows the
meaning of .the prQpositipn that I knpw Him and yet
do not know Him, -he knows, Him/ ;

; There; is- another mist : of ; ancient .controversy Tlie contro .
around the conception .of Grod, which, though not versy of
peculiar to India, lias had a special charm for the Nirgana 1 *
subtleties of the Indian intellect. From a very early ^ rallma -
time the Indian theologians have exhausted; all-; the
mgenuity of r their [dialectics and the resource of their
philosophies ..; in. .the discussion of the question
whether God is 'SfOT or - finl % terms which, though
rather difficult to translate into western phraseology
may be rendered into English as the Qualified and ttie
Unqualifieid, the Personal, and the Impersonal.

Here, again, the difficulty _has been unnecessarily Its s l uti <>n

22 THK BELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

and unwarrantably exaggerated. The antithesis bet-
ween* the two terms has been needlessly intensified.
God, the Supreme Being over the Universe, is not a
person like" oiirselveSf not limited :by qualities as finite
beings are. He is certainly fi^gBti unqualified, in the
sense that He is beyond qualities. But that does not
mean that He has no qualities; being fi^J ^$ He can
as well /be HjJUT or, as the theistic theologians of India
have said, H^wWmqi^^im^N^nM full of all aus-
picious (qualities. We know that the auspicious
qualities, such as, love, compassion, mercy, are valuable
and acceptable to us in so far as they have their origin
in a higher nature than ourselves ; they are 'sacred to
man, in as much .as.^he^are Divjwe 4n ; 4heir essence.
We know that the Divine mature cannot be. less than
loving, compassionate, merciful, however far, it may
transcend the connotations of these terms. We cannot
conceive that God is devoid of , or indifferent to these,
qualities which we justiy hold so precious and sacred
in man ; and if God cannot be indifferent to them,
they must derive their sanction and sanctity from being
of TTis essence. In this sense He is surely w4Ui
possessed of the qualities, personal. But he is also im-
personal, in so far as His nature is not hemmed in
by 'the limitations we see associated with human na-
ture. He is -ftihg in the sense that He transcends all
qualities. He is Infinite in HJS qualities ; the few
phrases of human vocabulary anct thought, the cate-
gories of human characterj-^lbve, compassion, mercy
etc, do iadt exhaust the infinitude of the Divine
nature. Moreover, His love, His compassion, His
mercy in 'themselves iar transcend- the subliniest

OF. THE BRABMO SAMA.T. 23

oncepUoh v ^e^jjare 4 capable : 'of 'WeiP qualities. The
theistic;':i^iiBolQ^a^s of -India batfe: endeavoured to
indicate. the nature pf God by three pregnant terms,
1 S$f_ f%5[ !^i*n e ^i Existence or ..Power, Wisdoin an,d
351iss of Lpye. These J^rahmoism accepts 'as, real
elements of the Divine" Essence ; only it must not
Tje taken to jnean that they in any, way exhaust
the infinitude -bf the Natee. Even tne auspicious
qualities known toMu^man llibught s and conscience
<do not completely and perfectly reveal the beauty
and fullness of their, prototypes, in, the : ,,Divine
^Nature. Love in God far transcends the love

" / r-- ' I i - ' > ... , -' ; . . "1 i .- -

manifested in the noblest of created being&

Yet another pair of antithetic terms commonly ^ e

. . .'].: ;..;-.-.; ''..:. ...-- --.;:,. .-..,-.- ,;,.., .;,...-..^..A versyoi

beheved to entangle any enunciation of ; the Divine Transcen-
1S"ature has to, be noticed in. this connectiori ; and i^manSice.
Tiere the problem has presented, itself more keenly
to the Western than to the Eastern, mind. The

schools of "^este^ii philosophy.,Jiaye keen puzzjed
l)y the "question, whether God is transcendent or
immanent* as -the^ orientals have been by that of

^WT and TwHT. : / .. .

' -D 2. i. i ii. -a-^ iL.----- - - - - Its solution.

Hut here also the dimculty is more imaginary

than real. The Brahino^ finds no serious "'difficult5r
in reconciling these seemingly irreconcilable cori^
-ceptions. God, mdeed, is J; immanent. He is not
an extra-cosmic, mechanical artificer of the uni-
verse. To the Brahmo, -as to the Mishis of -old,

"The Deify who " is in fire^ who is 1 in water,
^ho pervades the univrseV : who is in the --' smallest
shrub (as much as) in the 'largest
is the =G6d ; to Him we <

24 THE /RELIGION OF THE ERAHMO -'

: -If'

__ ,__ ,-.:...., ?V P$-

eternity, are air in Him. , ^natey^r is, is T in Him?
of 'Him, .'through H3m.UBe i.is, the Soul A of our
souls. ' ' ' . ' .'. ' " *- ' 'j "-

"He is tne 5 ear 6f our ears, the/ 'mind of our mind,,
the word of our word, the life" of our life, and

~ r .;A ' I- .,...,.. i '"(-'"' ' ' - ' '' ; '"

the l eye of bur eye." So 'far He is the God
Immanent/ 'But the crfiiated uiiiverse does/. not
exhaust the possibilities of His Infinitude. The

...:.'" ' '.. ' .' ' - , - . '.'......,-;.- : '..-,- .' -i

universe with all its immensit^ is but a wave in.

- ' ' r * t > '' . '

the infinite ocean of the Divine, a ; ray coming out
of Him. The sun and the mooi are. not '.more-
than the smallest fraction ^ of His Infinity.

''In Hini the light, of, the siu^^fades,, ;,the moon and-
stars do not shine, not even those -/iUghtnings, not
to, speak of this fire.- .Beyond the actual, He is
the, Infinite, . JCxhaustless,, Eternal. : In the universe
He is,. the Immanent: beyond it He is the Trans-

v ...,-. i .. i ..,.: / : r, . .- ' t % ~ .'

cedent ,in j^s own Infinitude. ,; ! , ,
. ; . Thus we reach a conception of : God, simpleip
sweetj grand and satisfying. He; is] indeed infinite^
transcending all the : ppwers of finite- reason, yet
He is ^not altogether;, unknown, to us. By the very
nature ,-.Q; the subject, a defiaition is out of place.
The only ' .definition - possible; is :by ^dicating the

THE BELI.GION OF THE BEAHMO SAMAJ. 25

effects- of His Being* Indeed, ;;that ;is a qualiiica-*
cation : .- attaching ; ; not' . to the Conception, , of jGrod
akfne. Of , no > ultimate reality ;ean wes -give/ any
other j ikind of : definition. The definitions, ; which
science gives of matter, force, electricity, light &c,
are exactly of the same, nature/ What .these things
are in themselves science, does not [pretend to say;
the only definition attempted is, by an indication
of their effects.; :B a definition of God is,' pressed
for, it is perfectly , ;scientific and -satisfying to say
in the words of the Upanishad, ; -.

"He from whom these things are -born, He in
whom created beings live, and i going from here in
whom they rest, know Him, He is the God."

God is the ultimate, unanalysable substratum God, the
of the universe, in whom all that is and all that
can be live and move and have their being. What of the

<^ -g .y *

He in Himself , is we> ! cannot know* in fulness:;
but what we know , of Him is enough for the
satisfaction of our human needs. He is Infinite
in His qualities. The human . intellect can
never fathom; the depths of His infinitude ; speech
as well as mind do, mdeed, "turn . away without
finding the end;" but equally surely : we know that
we know Him, -we can hold direct communion with
Him. Intellectually we know that He is the ulti-
mate Principle, the fundamental Substance of the
universe, the prime Reality, call it existence, mind,
energy, or whatever else you will, from whom; .all

THE EEUOION OF THE BBAHMO SAMAJ.

intelli-
gent power.

^Making for

Highteous-

aiess.

'that is has sprung and by whom it 4s sustained
very moment. The created -universe is only -1 an
"insignificant manifestations of this God. In Him
'there is the potency of infinite universes like -the
-existing one. . ;

Our knowledge, however^ does riot stop here.
Tt is not that all we know is that God is a mere
-vague, indefinite something from which the uni-
verse has been evolved; but consistently with our
reverent recognition of the littleness of human
"knowledge, we can also add that we get glimpses
-of ; Him??rwin:ch in . comparison with His. Infinitude
-are glimpses only, but which, to us .are almost too
abundant and dazzling a light. We know that the
ultimate Principle underlying ^the- universe is
Intelligent, not a blind, mechanical force; every-
where in creation, from the mass underneath the
feet up to the farthest star overhead, in the dead
particle of matter as much as in the noblest
liuman life, in the momentary existence of the
moth as well as>in the evolution of 'the grandes
drama of human history^ there is an unmistakable
undeniable shining forth of intelligence, of wisdom
Whatever else the underlying Principle of the
universe may be, we are sure that it is not blinc
aimless, purposeless; it is 'Intelligent.

Equally unmistakale are the evidences of that
Intelligent Principle being moral; it makes for
righteousness. In the constitution of the universe
we find that every provision has been made for
the : upholding of righteousness, truth, ^ rectitude,
justice and purity. In human consciousness and

RELIGION OF THE CBRAHMO SAMAJ. 27

human society that moral principle has Iblossomed :

forth: into a conscience*; what is revealed in i nature
.as an underlying pnnciple' has ; become a self-
conscious, authoritative witness in man.

Deeper 'and further analysis of the constitution
of >the .universe brings us face to face with love. God is Love.
Itfot only *to we find here inexorable law of stern
justice buV transcending arid transforming justice,
there is lOve, 'which beareth.all ; things, believeth all
things, hopeth all things and endureth all things."
Ther Hishis^Qi tihe Upanishads were not satisfied
with merdy stating indefinitely that the sum-total of
existences has sprung from an indefinite something.
They ^begari, indeed, with the indefinite proposition
3Ru 5|T'$*iifl fjfTH fra*% i&c., "He from whom all
these things ; were born" ; but at the next step
they found something surer and pealed forth with
a shout of joy.;'

""From Love have, aE .^

thus laying hold on the grandest conception of

"God is Love/' ', ;

Oathering up the assets of all these experiences
of humari nature in its intellectual, emotional and
moral aspects, we reach a sublime conception of
God as "the Eternal in the transient phenomena,
the Consciousness in conscious beings, the One
who provides the desires of all, presiding in the
human soul"

"God in nature, God in the human soul and God
as the Providence in human society."

28

THE KEUGIO:SL:OF;THE BRAHMO

Deeper in- '> * Thereis-yet a higher; and more precious; testimony

Ijsktinto when: the pure heart sees Him face to face,hearsiHis

Nature. voice* receives: His inspiration. In . nature and human

society, we know Him as a Power ordering, every-

thingi'as;an underlying . :Intelligent Principle; making

o unfailing for. righteousness. But to the pure;souly

He reveals Himself more .closely, intimately, as the

Father, the Dear One holding "immediate, 5 < individual^

personal relationship n^th His children the deepest

and grandest: mystery of creation, nevertheless* 'as

true ; and resting on as sure" a foundation of facts

as the ; law that; uin nature every atom attract&

every other atom. , ; ,

,r All these facts of human ; experience the Brahmo

Samaj formulates in the words of- ?the IRishis^ not

as a dogma, .but as; a necessarily imperfect indica-

tion- of the Divine Nature,

' ; . , ' ' ' . .1 : ; . ' ' . .

"The Reality, the Wisdom, the Infinite, shining a&
the Love and Jlie Bliss, the Peace, the ; jGroodnes&
and the Holiness, the One Undivided."- Such is the
Brahmo conception of God."

CHAPTER III

but

" " Man.

- -i .,;... .1 : Li.' i : ; t ,; '!-.!' -\ j.- ; ' ' ' ; ' '

Next after the idea of God; the conception of man Controver-
-ocbiipies the most- important- place in religion. g^ a
Naturally, 'therefore, it has given rise .to an: abundant
harvest of wrangling and misunderstanding in the
theological world. But a right apprehension of the
problem here is of ' even more:? practical importance
to true religion. The question, unfortunately; has.
been very much complicated by -the morbid spe-
culative tendency of the 'schools', and the worid
"soul* has veritably been, hedged round with endless
controversies, "i Broadly , speaking, on tfie one rside, :
there have been thinkers who deny the existence g ou i i s
of a soul distinct from the body. '< All : the pherio-
mena popularly attributed to -;the soul are entirely
the outcome of the, .working.. of the higher organs
of the body. The Jbrain;, and ; ; the nerve-cells alone
explain all the wondrous activities of the human
mind and conscience. They, indeed, look so very
different from the phenomena of the material world,
but they are as much material as the ordered
movements of a machine. Quite at the opposite
pole, there have been others: who hold that not
only is the soul not matter. but it is God Himself.
This i is a ,-^ doctrine in a way peculiar to India.
From a very Dearly time many of our theologians
have taken delight in identifying the human soul
with : God, Acc'ording to them, there is no such

matter.

SpulisGod.

30

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Brahino
conception
of soul.

Man is iin- ''
mortal spirit

thing as the individual soul, the distinct self-con-
sciousness of the individual being only an illusion.

It is not necessary for our present purpose tx>
enter into a detailed examination of these theories..
All that we are concerned with at present is a
statement "of the Brahino .conception of . the soul
or man. Steering ^ clear of both the extremes, the
Brahmo Samaj, on the unmistakable testimony of
nature, believes in, the reality ;and individuality of
the soul. '.'- Man according to tile .Brahmo Samaj y
is not a fmely^wrought delicate machine kept up
and worked 1 ior a certain number of years by the
play of heat and^cold and in theiend collapsing
with the decay of the constituent parts. The
material frame, the senses, the nervous systeinj the
brain are essential to : the -activities of our being;
the eye is necessary: for seeing, the brain for
thinking, but it is not the eye that -sees, nor the
brain that thinks ; there is an : ego, 'F, behind all
the .organs and their functions, a 'self or 'soul*
other than the material organism, a spiritual entity,
which is not hurt by the loss of any of the organs
and which endures when the whole 1 organism
becomes inoperative.

The Brahino believes in the spirituality of the
soul as much as in ; the existence of God> and
from its spirituality its immortality follows almost
as a ; corollary. The belief in the 1 immortality of
the soul is, if not an immediate intuition, an
instinct of human .nature. This instinctive certitude
is corroborated by an analysis of the' contents of
our intellectual, moral and emotional experience.

THE RELIGION OF THE BR&HMO SAMA3~ 3H

The belief in a life after deatH is' universal sindi
persistently obtrusive. The human heart has -tena-
ciously- clung to: it in the midst > of the rapid- ^aridl
sweeping intellectual changes of ages. Even afteE
the corrosive influence of present-day) scepticism 1 ,,
all that is necessary is not a demonstration of its
existence, but only a clearing of certain doubts
to have been cast on this ancient -anchorage o
the human heart by modern knowledge. ..<:.

The mam difficulty in the way of f aitk in an Faitll in ^
after-life : is , supposed to lie innthe dictum that after-life VUB
whatever has a beginning must:;have an; : end;: But-
that dictum, ; however plausible, is not universally'
true. Oh the other hand, its converse proposition:
has been proved to be a scientific truth. In the*
earlier unscientific ages in the! world; of. matter the
popular mind was .confronted with the phenomenon*
of universal extinction. But science has proved-
that extinction . is not annihilation ; what seems ;
to vanish away continues to exist in another form.-
Even in the material world it. is. not true 'that
what begins must end ; rather it is truer to say
that what begins continues to run its course-
eternally. "What, indeed, does 'Newton's first law"
declare/' says Dr. Martineau, "but that a particle
once set in motion in empty space will continue-
to move in a straight line with uniform velocity-
for ever, unless some external force supervenes?"
And if we can think of the law of gravitation as
having been given to the material of the universe,
surely we are not on that account compelled by any
logical necessity to . anticipate its cessation." If'

32 THE BEUGIQH OF JCHE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

universal -extinction ; is ; not true in the material
wprlfl much less ,so is it in .the- spiritual, world
In the spiritual world our material conceptions of
quantity Ido not apply at all. .Here use does not
mean" :. waste :but increase ; in the spiritual world
it 'is absolutely true that he who loses saves,: and
he <; that -saves loses. It is therefore not necessary
at all to believe 'that because the soul has a begin-
ning, therefore it must have an end.
Testimony of The universal belief and aspiration of hunianity
&helmman cannot be lightly dismissed. The constitution of
human unature is/a guarantee of the immortality of
the soul. Man is not a creature of the , moment,
His r whole -nature -points towards eternity. .The
range of. his intellect, the depth of his, heart, the
maj esty of i his will would be egregibusly out of
correspondence with the span of his earthly
existence. . : -.,-

"Sure, He that made us with such large discourse,
VLooHrig before and after, gave us not ."
That capability and god-like reason"

to end in the grave. If it were so, it would be
an astounding, wastage in a- universe where the
most careful economy is observed in everything,
"where "not a worm is cloven -in vain" and "not a
moth with vain desire is shrivelled in a fruitless
fire." If the grave were the end of human life,
either madness or .wickedness were at the bottom
<<)f this universe, and -"God a wicked maniac."

v "My own dim life should teach me this,
.That life shall live for evermore

THE KELIGION OF . THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Else earth is darkness at the core,
And dust and ashes all that is ; :

This round of green, this orb of flame, ,
Fantastic beauty ; such as lurks
In some wild Poefc, when he works
Without a conscience or an aim.
What then were God to such as I?
'Twere hardly. worth my while to choose
Of things all mortal, or to use
.A little patience ere I die."

Every fact of human consciousness necessitates a niMMroia *
J faith . in the existence of a life after death. But moral life,
[there is one group of human experiences which
lean not but carry conviction even to the simplest
mind. There is an apparent failure of" righteous-
ness and miscarriage of justice within our human
experience. There is no doubt a vast provision
Jin the constitution of the visible universe for the
righting of wrong and the upholding of goodness.
But even taking into consideration the joys of an ,
innocent conscience . and the hidden shame of wrong-
oing, it cannot be said that within the bounds of
undane life we have always an exact reckoning
>f good and evil with . their adequate reward ,.-

i hnd punishment. /The demands of our moral sense,
5 (therefore, lanci us on the shores of a realm where
ustice is fulfilled and righteousness is exalted. Dr.
tineau, after an admirable analysis of the
contents of the moral sense, comes to the following
3onclusion : "It is impossible to admit that our
uoral nature runs tlirough its own cycle and fulfils
ts own idea in .our experience here. It announces

34 'THE KEiiGiotf" OF THE

a righteous rule which again and again it brings to
mind and will not suffer to bVf orgotteri, but of which
it does ndt securer the execution. It is a prophecy
carrying its 'own credentials in an incipient fore-
taste of "the end but holding its realisation h
reserve : and if Death gives final discharge alike to
the sinner arid the saint, we are warranted in
saying "that "Conscience has told more lies than it
has ever called to their account." We are thus
constrained to believe in th6 continuance of liie
.$ '-.' after death in some form the details of which w
:../**:- fo no t; know, "but which conserves and fulfils th
assets of our intellectual, moral and spiritual life
The Brahmo ! Samaj, therefore, conjoins thi
immortality of the mimari soul with the belief i
an Eternal and Infinite God as the fundaments
facts of religious experience. "God is our highes
proof of a future life/'
Oaestion of As a sequel to, arid symmetrical extension o

the pre-exis- the faith in immortality, a belief in the pre-existenc
of the soul has been supposed necessary amonj
the Indian schools of thought. As death is not . th
" end of the soul, so, it is argued, birth is not il
the question, beginning. There is f. surely a fair plausibility i
this argument. The Brahmo Samaj does not den
the possibility of a previous existence of the soul
but there is not' that constraining necessity* n
even a fair "evidence, for the belief in the pfl
existence of the soul, which there is in the case <
its continuance 'after death. Were there no li
after death, there would be' an .undeniable collapi
'''of ''theism, 'or of all religion, for the matter of thf

THE RELIGION * OF THE BRAHMO 8AMAJ.

35

The demands of our moral sense, our spiritual aspira-
tions, would remain unsatisfied, if death were the
close of the drama of individual existence. Life here
is at best a probation, not the fulfilment, of our
highest nature. Belief in immortality is, as we have
seen, necessitated by our intellectual, moral and
emotional experiences.

But there is no such constraining necessity about
faith in the pre-existence of the soul. Some suppose
that in the visible differences in the lots of indivi-
dual persons there is an unanswerable argument in
favour of the belief in a previous birth. We find
such apparent and unjustifiable differences in the
circumstances of different persons ; one is born poor,
another rich ; one cursed with a iniserable frame,
abode of all diseases, another healthy -and strong;
and so on. These cruel differences, are inconsist-
ent with divine justice and can be explained only
by belief in a previous birth the good or evil deeds
of which secure a happy or miserable lot in this
life. The belief in a previous birth, or transmigra-
tion of the soul, which |has taken such a strong
hold of the Indian mind, had its origin evidently in
these apparent inequalities of individual circums-
tances. It has been associated in the popular mind
with the prevailing doctrine of Karma. The law of
Karma in itself is a perfectly legitimate and same
principle equivalent in effect to the law of cause
and -effect. The Brahmo Samaj unhesitatingly
accepts the law of Karma proper, which means
that every action good or bad must have its right-
ful reward or punishment meted to it. It forms

Previous
birth postu-
lated to ex-
plain inequa-
lities of life.

The Law of
Karma.

36 THE BELIGIOK OF THE BRAHMO SAM AJ.

Theory of
transmigra-
tion does not
explain the
inequalities
of individual
lots.

the very foundation of Brahnio ethics. But the
law of Karma must not be confounded with the
doctrine of transmigration or previous birth. The
support believed to be lent by the one to the other
as also by the postulate of divine justice, is entire-
ly illusory. The relief given by the doctrine of
transmigration to the apparent partiality of Provi-
dence as manifested in the equalities of human lot
will be found on closer examination to be all but
imaginary. If the inequalities of the present life
are to. be attributed to the good or bad actions of
a previous existence, there comes the further
question, how came the good and bad actions in
the previous life, and the only possible escape to
push them back to a still earlier existence, and
thence to one still further back ad infinitum, so
that the doctrine of a previous birth does not
account for the inequalities of life ; it only, shoves
them from the present to the past. But if there
are real inequalities,, the question still remains, even
if they are pushed back to the hundredth or thou-
sandth life in the rear, how came inequalities at
all ? If God created men equal, how came the
first inequality ? The theory of a previous birth
relieves the tension on neither the law of Karma
nor the belief in divine justice. If you say
the circumstances of the present are the outcome
of Karma in a past life, how came the first Karwfl
which is the source of all subsequent Karmas and
conditions ? And how is divine justice exonerated
from the charge of partiality by pushing back the
difficulty from the present to the past ?

THE BEUGIOJf OF THE BBAHMQ SAMAJ. 37

Not only does the doctrine of a previous birth
fail to relieve the difficulties o our faith in divine of Transmig-
justice in the face of the seeming inequalities of
individual lots, but it goes straight against our
moral sense and the demands of all Jhuman concep-
tions of justice. For our sense of justice requires
that the knowledge of the offence must go with
the infliction of punishment. Punishment, whether
retributive or educative, is ineffectual without the
knowledge of the guilt. If it is merely retributive, our
moral sense requires that the cause of punishment
must be known. Even human law does not.inict

* . . V.

a punishment without specifying tlie offence -com-
mitted. If the punishment is disciplinary : or educa-
tive, it is entirely useless without a \ clear and
explicit knowledge of the guilt If the erring cul-
prit does not know for what he is punished, how
can he mend himself ?

The doctrine of a previous birth, therefore, far
from solving the problem of the apparent failure
of justice in the constitution of human society,
leads us to fresh and inextricable difficulties. A
belief or disbelief in it, however, is immaterial to
Theism: The Brahmo Samaj does not insist, on
any dogmatic pronouncement on the question either
on the positive or on the ,negative side. The faith
of the Brahmo remains untouched whether the
present individual had a history in the past or the
momentous drama began with the present life.
The exact hour in . the march of the eternity
when an individual commences its history is
immaterial, to Theism, so long as its contents

38

THE RELIGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

The indisput-
able stand-
point of the
JBrahmo
Samaj.

An essential
factor of
Theism.

Individuality
and responsi-
bility of man.

are found to be consistent with laws of
righteousness.

Leaving, therefore, to individual speculation the
question of the previous existence of the soul, the
Brahmo Samaj takes its stand on the firm ground
of the consciousness of the present, viz., "I am I" ;
whether I had a previous history or not, here I
am, a rational being, with certain powers and capa-
bilities and with a sense of individuality and res-
ponsibility. Beyond that we need not go.

All that is required for theism is that man is a real
entity having an existence of his own which is a not
nothingness. On the one hand, the materialist makes
theism impossible by identifying the soul with matter,
holding it to be only a function of the brain and
the nerve-cells arid ceasing to exist with the dis-
integration of the physical frame. On the other
hand, in India there has been a menace to theism,
equally destructive, from /another quarter. There
has been from a very early time a school of philo-
sophers in India who have identified the human soul
with God, If by this it is meant that the human
soul had its origin from God, is of the essence of
God, the theist would not only take no objection to,
but would heartily welcome it. But if it is meant
to deny the separate existence of man as an indi-
vidual, the theist can have nothing to do with it.

The individuality of man is the axiom as well
as the postulate of all religion. Deny the indivi-
duality of man, deny the existence of the soul as
an individual, responsible agent or entity, and all
religion, all morality, will at once collapse. Man is

THE RELIGION OP THE BBAHMO SAMAJ. 39

not God ; our primary consciousness and common
^sense at once and without hesitation declare the
absurdity of such an identification. Man is from
<rod, in God, of God ; but he is not God. As a
modern thinker has said, "That monism whick
merges man in God is to my mind mischievous
-and false. It stands, forth to me as a primary
truth of consciousness that the human soul is other

<_~.i.-H- '"' - "' . - ,

-than God. I know not how God created me.

* . -j- - ; . - *

But I know that,! am an individual self, standing
-confronting Him, and not merged in Him. ; And
this otherness of man from? God seems to me to be
the condition of all prayer, all ;moral life, the index
tto the capital facts of temptation, of penitence, of
thankfulness, of aspiration, of communion, and of
prayer 5 '. Born of the essence of God, created by
<*od and sustained J?y Him very moment, ^deriving
^11 his strength and. power from Him, yet for the
-present he holds a distinct individual existence and
responsibility which will be continued to eternity.
The spiritual progress of the soul, according to the
IBrahmo Samaj, does not mean its annihilation, or
merging in the Being of God, but increasing har-
mony with IHis will, continuous growth in know-
ledge, love and purity. The ancient Hindu scrip-
tures, on the supposed authority of which the
identity of God and man is affirmed 1 , emphatically
^declare the distinct individuality of the human soul:

"Two beautiful birds, friends of each other and
alwajs living .together, inhabit the same tree."

CHAFTTR IT.

i .' Nature.

Ctodtheall- After the somewhat detailed exposition of the

perrading, in conceptions of God and Man set forth in the pre-

dwelling ... , . . ... , ,

gpirjt. vious chapters, it will not be necessary to say

Ifeeasm as
distinct from
Deism and
Pantheism.

much about the Brahmo conception of
God, according to the Brahmo Samaj, is the: A cause
and source of all that exists; so that nature,* eartl*
and the heavens are all His creation. It has also
been seen that God is not an absentee, extra-
mundane artificer who sits apart after having
fashioned his handiwork. He is the immanent, in-
dwelling Spirit pervading the universe.^ Every
atom of matter, every form of life, is instinct with
His presence and power. Without Him, nothing;
can exist even for a moment.

"Who would move or who would live, if this;
Love were not existing ?" The sun shines, the
wind blows and the fire gives heat by His might.

All that is through Him and in Him. Thus
there is a vast difference between the religion of
the Brahmo Sainaj and the cold mechanical deism
of the eighteenth century. Similarly it differs
radically from that pantheism, so common in India.

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMA J. 41

as, indeed, to all poetic temperament, which identi-
fies God with Nature. For, though the Brahmo
sees God in all and all in God, though every
blade of grass and every I form of life is instinct
with the Divine Presence, his God is not the sum-
total of the existing universe. While immanent
in every particle of matter and in every moment of
time, God transcends the existing universe in
infinite ways. There is in Him the possibility of
countless universes.

Nature is therefore not mere dead matter ; nor
is it the arena for the clash of the blind force?.
Nature is the temple and handiwork of God. It is
God who is preserving it and working in it every
moment of time. The method of His working He
has, no doubt, committed to definite and invariable
ways. And those abiding methods of God's working
are what Science calls laws of nature. It is in keep-
ing with His nature that His working should be oh
certain eternal principles. A world where there
were no abiding laws, where the same cause did
not produce the same effect, where whims and
caprices, though of the most benevolent autocrat
imaginable, determined the course of events, would
be as inconsistent with the known nature of God
as it would be impossible for the habitation of
intelligent and responsible beings. The exact
methods of God's working are left to Science to
determine. Thus the Brahmo Samaj has solved the
ancient conflict of religion and science. The laws
of nature are the methods of divine providence.
Science is reading arid interpreting the methods of

Nature the
Temple of
God.

Natural law&
the methods
of Divine
activity.

Demarcation
of the
spheres of
religion and
science.

42 THE REUGION OF THE BRA HMO SAMAJ.

Science free
to interpret
the methods
of God

Xife <a trust
and home a
sanctuary.

God in nature. Every law that science discovers
increases our knowledge of the ways or God.
Science has therefore become the hand-maid of
religion. Brahmoism leaves science entirely fre
to deal with the phenomena of nature and accepts
all its discoveries as God's, truth. It is immaterial
to Theism whether God created the universe in six
days or in six millions of years, slowly evolving
higher life from lower, cosmos out of chaos, estab-
lishing order and beauty where there were disorder
and ugliness. A universe in which every blade
^of grass, every germ of life, every page ef history,
reveals an inexhaustible store of wisdom, love
and righteousness, presupposes an intelligent, righte-
ous Love behind it, even though the unfolding of
it is spread over an infinity. The Power or Mind

'- .* .**-"

or Love which was formerly posited in a particular
spot or epoch is now found to operate in every
atom of space and at every moment of time. The
universe thus becomes a temple of God, a circle
with its centre everywhere and circumference
nowhere. The distinction between sacred and
secular vanishes. Where shall we point our finger
and say, 'here God is not?"

It is evident that such a conception of the
universe leaves no room for morbid pessimism. It
gives a solemn sanctity to human life and institu-
tions. The world is not an illusion, as we also are
not phantoms. Human life is not a blunder or a
bane. And home and society, the sweet relations
of love and duty that bind us to each other, are
aiofc fetters to be snapped asunder as fast as we

THE REIiIGION OF THE ERAHMO SAMAJ 43

m

cap. We are not amidst a snare to get out of

which is salvation. If we were, it would be difficult

to explain who could have planted us here but a

wicked devil. But the Brahmo Saraaj emphatically

repudiates the belief in a second Principle working

in the universe. And a benevolent God could not

have led us into a snare. The theory of the world

as a snare, or of life as an evil, must go for ever.

It is holy ground we tread on. The pure soul is

the heaven where God dwells, and the human

hearth the most sacred sanctuary. It is a Love

that has planted us in a world of love for the

perfection of our nature. It is Holiness that has Society the

placed us in a moral universe for the development self-culture.

of our moral nature. Farfrom its being necessary

for the seeker after spiritual culture to flee away from

the world and society, the scene where he is placed

with his individual struggles and temptations, his

domestic trials and obligations, his social duties and

difficulties, is the holiest shrine of God for him.

What mountain-cave can give one a clearer vision

of God than the altar of duty where the love of

parents and children, of wife and husband, of

friend and fellow-man, is the most fragrant incense

imaginable burning day and night, where sorrow

<jalls for compassion and suffering wakes

up the noblest potentialities of our nature, and

where the fellowship of the good, the noble and the

saintly is a constant aid to holy living ? Not to

turn away from the trials and tasks of life but

to face them manfully and in the love of God, to

bear the cross in faith and hope, to serve our fellow-

44 THE BELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

men with all our strength and might, and if it
not given to us to achieve anything remarkable,.
at least to breathe pure inspiration into all that we
do not say and think, this is the key to a right
understanding of life and its mission.

W*^I

"O Thou Lord of creation, Thou Supreme God'
whose nature is light and righteousness, at Thy
behest, for Thy glory and the good of humanity^
live I this life."-r-this is the true standpoint of the?
Brahmo!

CHAPTER V
Works hip.

Brahrnoism is primarily and essential^ a religion
worship. The central point in the religion of worship,
the Brahmo Samaj is the spiritual worship of the
One True God Religion, according to the Brahmo,
is not a set of correct doctrines, nor is it an
ecclesiastical discipline, but it is at bottom a living,
loving, personal relationship with God. The Brahmo
Samaj, therefore, lays the greatest emphasis on
worship, which is the channel of communication Worship
between God and man. By worship the Brahmo communion
does not understand the observance of a set of between God
rituals, external ceremonies, or the uttering of
certain formulas ; to him worship is the communion
of the soul with God ; on the part of man, it is
the opening of his soul, the outpouring of his as-
.pirations, the acknowledgment of his failures and
transgressions and the consecretion of Ms life and
work to God as his Lord, Refuge and Guide ; and on
the part of God, the communication of His light,
strength, inspiration and blessing unto the longing
soul. Worship is not the offering of a sacrifice
to appease the vengeance of an angry God or to buy
the good-will of an Almighty Autocart who can do
us good or evil at His pleasure ; but it is the
spontaneous expression of the natural relationship
between God \and man. It is the outpouring of

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO 8AMAJ.

Worship the
rown and
glory of hu-
life.

Worship
possible lor
all at all
times.

the love of the child towards the Father. Just as
it is natural for the son to cry "Abba, Father,"
for the child to cling to its mother, so it is for
man to worship his God. Just as it is natural
for the flame of a burning fire to go up, so
it is. for the aspirations of the human soul, its
longings, sorrows and sufferings to tend upward
to the Throne of God. As the flower is the ful-
filment of the plant life, so the worship of God,
is the fulfilment of human life. Worship is its own
reward. It is the crown and glory of human life.
A life without worship is like a plant that does
not bear flower or yield fruit. It misses the highest
joy as well as the truest realisation of human:
destiny. Worship is the daily bread of spiritual life.
What food is to the physical life worship of God

t .".-'..- ' .

is to the spiritual life.

If worship is to the spiritual life what food
is to the physical, it follows at once that worship
should be as much within the easy reach of all
classes and conditions of men and women. Accor-
dingly the Brahmo Samaj maintains that no special
place or time, neither a temple p nor an auspicious
hour, is essential to the worship of God. Wherever
the soul looks up to God in love and reverence,
there is the holiest temple of God. Every moment
of eternity is sanctified with the Divine Presence>
and the longing soul need not wait for the auspi-
cious day. No material offerings or costly presents
are necessary for the worship of God, himself the
Giver of all gifts. The only essential thing in
worship is a sincere and longing heart. Where the

THE RELIGION OF THE BBAHMO SAMAJ. 47

penitent soul pants for the breath of God, nothing
can stand in between.

The Brahmo Samaj does not recognise any
specially privileged priestly class as the mediators
between God and man. God is our Father ; and
none can love us so much as He. It is absurd to
say that we* need 'a -third 7 person to reconcile us to
TTjm or to act as a mediator or intercessor between
Him and us. His love is a more than sufficient
gurantee for our salvation. The Brahmo Samaj
has removed all barriers between God and man.
It has made the whole universe His temple ; every
longing soul its own priest, rather, God Himself
the High-priest of all. The new gospel of the
Brahmo Samaj says that not in Jerusalem nor
through the medium of priest or prophet shall
man worship the Spirit-God ; the spirit draweth
nigh unto Him wherever and whenever it would,
without waiting for the intercession of any spiritual
advocate, dead or alive.

The spiritual worship of the Braumo Saraaj is
not any outward ceremony. It does not necessa-
rily require the uttering of any word of praise or
prayer. The essence of worship is the yearning
of the soul for God and its self-consecration to
His service. Worship has been defined by Brahmo
teachers "as the love of God and the doing of
what is acceptable to Him" -

No mediator
or priest
essential to
worship*.

God our
High-prieat*

Worship
consists IB.
love and
service.

These are the two essential elements of worship ^Jgbh
and &<w4*love and service. Every act of

48 THE BELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Establish-
ment of spi-
ritnal wor-
ship the
supreme mis-
sion of the
Brahmo
Samaj.

good done in love is worship. To feed the hungry,
clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, help the
weak, uplift the fallen, right the wrong and check
the oppressive is to serve the .Lord. Work indeed
is worship. But to be worship work must be
prompted and inspired by genuine love. Other-
wise, "though I bestow all , my goods to feed the
poor, and though I give my body to be burnt and
have not love, it profitetli me nothing." Work
can never be the substitute of workship. The two
must go hand in hand. Work done for the love
of God and unto His glory sanctifieth the soul,
but dissociated from this end, it leads to vanity,
barrenness, self-seeking.

The essence of worship is love and service f
love which flows out in service and service which
is inspired by love of God. Such is the simple
but soul-satisfying conception of worship in the
religion of the Brahmo Samaj. Here is an act of j
direct spiritual experience. Every man must
approach his God and worship Him in the sane- j
tuary of his soul. In worship he is to receive
light and inspiration from God, in worship he may
lay the burdens of his soul at the feet of God, in
worship he can receive strength and peace and joy.
It is an act of supreme reality. The chief mission
.of the Brahmo Sama] is to establish this pure
spiritual worship of God : , in individual life, ,in
domestic life, in social life. Religion, according to
the Brahmo, begins inWwor^hip and finds its con-
summation in worship.

CHAPTER VI

; - * - ' ' : , " ' . ' ' t * '

Sin and Salvation , ;

;'v\- Conception
One crucial test marks off religion from philo- of sin the

.'.- ; . . . . , . . '.','' . . ; ' : -..- -rf ..'-. A* t-' * i

is the conception of, and attitude towards inJmSS?
tsin. Brahmoism, while deprecating such sentiments between reli-
as that "man is born in sin" or depraved by nature philosophy,
on account of the original sin of the parents
nevertheless does not make light of ... the awful
reality of sin. The Brahmo Samaj looks upon sin
as the terrible fact of our everyday human exis- . A . .

- ' -; . ' YYll&t 18 Bill.

tence. Sin is concious violation of Divine Law.
In His beneficent providence, God has given us th6

; - ' * . . : ' ' ' .* ' - . -

power of will, within certain restricted spheres, to
choose between the lower and the higher course
of action. He has given us the faculty to distin-
guish right from wrong, as He has given us facul-
ties to distinguish red froin black, the correct from
the incorrect, or the beautiful from the ugly. To
man belongs the precious privilege, which nece^
ssarily includes the terrible responsibility, of the
power to choose between two alternatives where
one of them is higher, worthier, than the other;
If in the presence of the lower he voluntarily
chooses the higher in scorn of consequences to
his sentient nature, he does the right, he is in
harmony with the moral law, he is approved of
God. On the other hand, if in the presence of the
higher he chooses the lower, if at the suggestion

50 THE REUGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

of selfish gain or the solicitation of sordid passions
he turns away from the highest ideal of his moral*

-'.''l v. J^T ' : -

conciousness and voluntarily yields obedience to*
the lower, he violets the moral law, disregards the
will. of God, commits sin. Every act of such

violation of tlie moral iaw dims the spiritual

' ' / vfj'vAf .-.'( .:-. ;<-;,' '.-- , . '' .-.<..-,,. -- : .,<.,-,-..
vision and .alienates the soul from God. Apart.

;'. ;:^ 1 ;- v -,-. * .. p r ^, , . .....; .-.-. -.v, ..,.'. .,; ! .. .,.-.;,, .' . ; '.,

- from the, evil consequences of wrong-doing in tlie-
Y^iibie wqrjd, and.it is an inevitable riaturallaw^
which even the atheist admits, that .the .wages of
sin is suffering, there overtakes .the . offender a.

:t l~. ."^ if '"'''.'* fVv^r>; f .'f/f f: " ; <!)'{; v ' 1 ' ' ;'<' ;>: 'A ' ; * : : V ' ';'

still more terrible .punishment in ,the spiritual world

. .. -Ji: . "'. -- ' :\f'~ > ' ' Trr~'TSx ; ';'. '- '; '"> '--'": *;-; --/. - .:. .- o ;;

v i]^ r ijhe : withholding", of : the light of God from the
transgressing soul ,an,d in the smarting .consciousness
of having done that wliich was wrong. It is this

'"- ' - ' ' ''.' ' -. " * -' ''' "-*' O * .' ' ":','' :''','!:'."" ';"' ':'. '' . ' r ;'";'>;' ; '

inner 'pang ^and desolation that becomes the most
awful cQpsequence of sin, most dreaded by the

"Hi-'- -> ' . . ' J ' \ ' -.'- 1 i f- if ,'; f ' ' r - " .:' '';.' . ", ' " ; '< r- ":''';

healthy, s.oul., Sucbu a p soul, not altogether blinded
an ; d , blunt;ed .in .wrong-doing, cries forth in tte
consciousness of its guilt, ."Purge , me, chastise me r

'" ' ' ' '." - ; _" ' f - " ' - ',* 7 t -- '' ^ ' '" .-' ' ' . - "').'' "*"'",

lmi:n mei if ; Thou like v st : but, O God, do 'not . with--

hold Thy. Jight- from. me?',^ ; ; /

a ,,,The Brahmo, Samaj solemnly acknowledging the

' ''' % " ' ' ' ' ' '- - '- ". - .-/ ' ! . ; -. " '.';.'."! ' '. . ";. /(",','"

Bio Bcalitj terriWe significance of sin, one of the most important
Consequences v; of_ the permeation of its principles-
has been an .awakening of the consciousness of sin
in the country.. At the same time, the Brahmo
Samaj emphatically repudiates the conception of"
eternal .damnation., Awful and terrible beyond all

" 7l ' '. -' ;--" : '''.- " '. . : U; . ., '; ..;..-..-.. ;'/; i ;., ; i ?

description as are the nature and consequences of
sin, the Brahmo believes that the love of God is-

THK EELIGON OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ 51

pghtier still than the guilt of man. God's love

in never forsake the sinner; it is blasphemy to

Ly that' God, who is Love, can consign His

rildren, even the erring and rebellious ones, to

rerlasling hellfire. GodVlove will not, cannot, Q O< J> S I^

low even one soul to be lost for ever. If sin is a more

* ' ' T^^^Wf^l* 1 IB I

tal, even more real is the love of God, tireless in {^1^
e quest after -His erring, wayward, straying
lildren. If the sinner does not turn to God, God
s after him until he has been won back. God

for saving and not for destroying His children.

, .: Forgiveness

Nor is there any necessity of a sacrificfe in order not appease

' .V f n j e j.i_ i ment of an

appease the anger ot God for the simple reason angry God,

at our God is not an angry God. The attitude
God towards the sinner is not that of anger
t of pity. The evil effects of sin in the natural
orld not even God can undo. If in my fury I
1 an innocent man, God does not bring him
.ck to life ; if in my lust I ruin a woman, my
of essioh of faith in any saviour connot redress
r or exculpate me. I must bear the conse-

tsnce of my action and must render whatever ;

aration is still possible at any cost. There is -

excuse, no escape, from receiving the wages of
ongdoing ; on the other hand, no true man,
ich less the penitent soul, desires to avoid the
pleasant consequences of his action. There is
forgiveness in the sense that I shall be saved
>m bearing the consequences of the evil that I
ve done to others by the violation of the laws
I nature. But the sense of alienation from God,

52 THE RELIGION OF THE. BRaHMO SA.&IAJ.

but the res-
rotion of
the disturbed
harmony be-
teen the
individual
soul and
God.

Brakmo con-
ception of
salwion.

the withholding of His : light, can be remoi
From his just punishment the true penitent does
wish to be freed ; rather, he insists that his wr
doing shoul d have its due wages ; but what
prays for is that he may be reconciled to his i
that he may not be cut off from His light,
ail that is necessary for this reconciliation of
sinner with God is sincere repentance. Uo
and until the sinner repents, no water here or
heaven, no blood, not even of the most immacu
person, .can cleanse him, no sacrifice can propit
God. The moment, however, the sinner repents wit
true repentance, there is nothing to stand betvr
the penitent soul and the love of God.
loving, pitying Father, indeed, will be waiting for
and the moment the sinner, like the proc
son, says to himself, "I will arise and go
my father," the Father rejoices to receive
back. Forgiveness of God means this recei
back of the penitent sinner to light and coin
nion.

Such being the Brahmo conception of sin
fogiveness, let us see what is meant by salva
As the Brahnio Samaj does not consider life itl
an evil, rather, as it looks upon it as a gift j
God, the old Hindu view of salvation as deliv
ance from the liability to birth has no place b
Nor do we consider salvation as a state of .per
happiness in a far-off heaven at some future d
Similarly the Christian conception of absoluu
from original sin has no significance for us, as '

THE RELIGION OF THE BBAHMO SAMAJ; - 53

not believe in any original sin due to the eating
lie fruit of the tree of knwledge by the first
ents. Yet salvation has a real and definite
ining in Brahmo theology. Salvation is the per-

harmony of the human soul with the Divine
the course of the progressive voluntary subor-
ation of the iudividual will to the Supreme will,
is the summum bonum of spiritual life. We are
cious of, and faonlar with different degrees of
idience and surrendered to the will of God. Our
'-love, passions and appetites often prompt us
deeds which we feel to be wrong and unworthy,
nee there is a cleavage between the path of
ty and toat of pleasure, Shreyo* and Preya, that
ich we ought to do and that which we like.
Dgress in spiritual life means the gradual appro-
nation of our likings and inclinations to the will
God. As we grow in spirituality, low desires,
worthy affections, evil thoughts, give place to
re aspirations, generous sentiments f noble thoughts

at last a stage is reached when base inclination
comes impossible ; the individual soul not only
es not do what is unacceptable to God, but has

desire, no inclination, save that which is appro-
d of God ; it beats in perfect unison with the
thm of the Divine will. All discord vanishes at
is height ; inclination and duty, Preya and
ire ya f coalesce. This stage of perfect harmony

the human soul with the Divine soul, the coa-
scence of the individual will with the Eternal, the
y of complete obedience and absolute surrender.

54: Tik^ RELIGION OF THE ERAHMO 8AMAJ

is what we understand by salvation. It was tl
beautitude of the devotee which was indicated

- . - .- ' . >. ,!

Jesus when he said, "I and my Father age one?;;
the ciTiiCi of the Vedanta.

1CHAPTER VIL , i

Incarnation and Mediation.

The Brahmo ^conceptions of God; and worship The doctrine
ire' in direct antagonism ' with ' two familiar ; ideas

fhich have figured > most prominently iri; ^many^ of ;""! Christ-
ie historical^ Teli^ions, i&,',<the doctrines o

ion and mediations -Many of the existing religions,
hile admitting the unity of the ; . Godhead, have
set up ome beings,- divine or 'semi-divine in, their
nature, to- share; in thfe divinity of Qod. The mos$
yell-known doctrine "of this type is that of incar-
nation,; which constitute the corner stone of paurqnic,
induism and of Christianity. Hinduism,,; while,
.dmitting , the' ultimate linity 'of God, says , that - He
me 'into the world several times assuming; various
forms. The Christian doctrine of the .deity of
'Christ is in its essence 7 exactly; -of the same nature,
-claiming that,, Jesus was the (rod Eternal who .
Incarnated Himself : for the benefit ? , of man. The
genesis of this doctrine is to be found in an under-
lying suspicion that the Eternal God is so high

inaccessible to man that .He must send' down I fcs

' supposed guff

-a duplicate of Himself in order that men may ^ have -between G
the knowledge of ; Him Others like the Moslems, ;
have tried to ; solve the same difficulty, not, indeed - *
^by duplicating Gbdf but by postulating one or mote .
; *emi-divine beings mediating I between H God and

56 THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

In the Brahmo conception of God, there is no

* necessity or room for any; such' doctrines. God ii
anti qua- J *

ted theology, the Soul of our souls ; He is nearer than the
nearest; in Him we live, move i arid have our being.
! Where, then* can there b , any necessity for an
intercessor or mediator -between God and man?
1 \',j J,;' These 'doctrines are evidentl> the-Telics ofca primitive*
antiquated theology in which God figured as
mechanical artificer, an extra-cosmic i : deity ; bul
with a God - immanent in every atom, indwelling
in every soul, there is ho necessity for an external
mediator or revealer. The older theologies have
first created a gulf between God and man and
then made themselves busy searching for a mean*
of bridging over it

,_ ,.-. . The very idea of the Eternal God embodving-

Thedifficult- ,...:.. .'.., , ., , , . . . ' ,

ie el the mmself in jnesh and blood and becoming subject

donrine. to all the vicissitudes of finite existence i
grotesque, if not unthinkable* The ludicrousness-
of 'the conception was felt by its originators them-
selves ; several attempts were made by the early
Christian Fathers to get over it, and hence the-
schools of Gnosticism. It Was ^4his same "difficulty
that made the pious : Gospel-writer shrink fronfr
1 ; the admission of ordinary birth :. from human-

parents in the case of Christ and gave rise to the-
doctrine of conceptidri by the Holy Ghost The-
Indian theologians in their turn tried to obviate the-
same difficulty by making a; distinction between the
Nirguna Brahma and the Saguna BrakmOy off.
whom the latter alone ever incarnated himself-

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ 57

explanations ; ar.e as unsatisfying to the
is|ead as to thef heart, r ;;.,...

Then, again, , if there were any need of a
carnation, ibr the salvation of mankind, what
nlbout the vast millions of men born before the
?irth of Krishna or Christ and those even now
ssing away without any knowledge of the In-,
nated God ? If there ever was a necessity
>f God c oming down to . the earth in human shape
at necessity exists and shall exist for ever and
tfor every man, If it; .were impossible to know God
r to believe in , Him. unless He were seen in flesh
nd blood, then to the vast majority of the human
,ce who were not contemporaries of the incarnat-
d God and did , not see him jn flesh and blood,
aith would remain impossible^ and if they should
efuse to believe in God unless He came to them
n visible shape, they would be justified by the con-
itions of God Himself.

If it is argued that there was a necessity of the
ncarnation of God, not for bridging over any gulf
etween ; God and ;man, nor for the sake of the
evelation of the knowledge of God, but for that of
,n example for the human race, that plea is surely
ore plausible. There can be no doubt that a
concrete example of holy life is much more efficaci-
us than abstract teaching; ; but the efncacy of that
ample depends exactly on his being a man like
urselyes and not God. If Jesus, for instance, were
od, the ? suffering, .temptation and triumph which
onstitute the crown of his life ^were meaningless.

Incarnation
as a perfect
exemplar for
humanity.

A more
plausible ex-
pknation.

58 THE REUGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Valid only i
4,he incarna-
tion is a man
and not God.

The doctrine
of incarna-
tion mars the
beauty of
noble souls.

Elements of
truth in the
doctrine.

To God there can be no suffering and temptation
Moreover, the temptation arid b triumph of God cai
have no message for us, for the f;r achievements "
His Divine nature can be - no index to our pbssi
bilities. The ; temptation in the wilderness,; th
agony at Gethsemarie, the fortitude dn Calvary th<
firial triumph at the critical 'momenr, are gtand onl]
as experiences of a sublime buV'kiintan nature, bu
grotesque', to say the least, as experiences of God
The faith which looks upon ' the great religious
teachers and martyrs as God incarnated, admirable
though it may be in its intent; absolutely misses
the divine significance of ; these 1 lives. The doct-
rine of incarnation is, on the one hand, derogatory
to the conception of God ; oh the r other, it strips
of their 'meaning and beauty the noble lives that

' - *' -

are identified with God. For as human; beings
they are sublime and beautiful; but as r ' God their
sufferings and sacrifices are of "no- value. It -is
easy to see that the doctrine under discussion had
its birth in a morbid hero-worship i But it is reveren-
ce which unconcibusly misses : its own end; For
the beauty of these lives depends on their - being
human natures similar to ours, * starting from 'the
same point, travelling along the ^sarnie roadj! with the
same or rather greater difficulties^ datigers, trials
and temptations, but in the end overcoming them
all by steadfast faith arid' perfect -surrender to-'-'the

Will Of God. ' :' : '(>t"\:. i ,^. ;t;i -

'And it is exactly in this light that the Brahnio
Samaj looks upon the prbphets and religious teach-

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

59

^ers of the world. They were not God, nor indeed,
mediators between God and man, because for such
there is neither necessity nor room ; but they
were men like ourselves who by faith and love,
loyalty and devotion, prayer and grace, attained to
the knowledge of God on the summit of manhood
and thus stand as great examples for us to imitate
anid emulate, inspiring us with hope in the hour of
darkness and courage in the time of trial. We
may go further and say that the appear and dis-
appear as parts of a Providential design, each re-
vealing; some Divine purpose and leading mankind
to certain truths, thereby helping in God's great
work the moral and spiritual education of ,nian-'
kind. In the providence of God, they supply a
much needed spiritual stimulus and inspiration but
are not any infallible standards of truth or doctrine.

- ^ ' ' ' . '...-'.

The Brahmo looks upon them not as Gods, nor as
superhuman beings standing between God and man,
but as elder brothers, to be loved, cherished and
venerated, at the same time not giving to them the
worship and the glory due to God, the Father of
all, which indeed they themselves would be most
shocked to see diverted to them. And in his
love and veneration for teachers, saints, prophets,
the Brahmp knows no distinction of caste,
colour, creed, time or nationality, but looks
with equal . regard upon the religious teachers
of. all faiths, ages and countries that is, in pro-
portion to the intrinsic acceptability of their re-
spective teachings. ?-

Brahmo

religious
teachers of
the world.

Truth the
scripture of
the Brahmo
Samaj.

Oodthe
Source of all
Truth.

CHAPTER Vllt.
Scripture and Revelation.

One essential element of religion is supposed to-
be scripture. Hinduism has its Vedas, Mahom-
madanism its Quoran, Christianity its Bible. The
followers of these religions draw their authority
and sanction from their respective scriptures. It
may be asked, what is the scripture of the Brahma
Samaj, on what is Brahmoism based ? To this we-
reply that Truth is alone our eternal scripture,
w* SiraWW?. The religion of the Brahmo Samaj
is not based on this or that book, so that with a
doubt cast on its authority the very foundation
gives way; its scripture is not a particular
book written in a particular language amongst a
particular people. Its scripture is the eternal and
universal Truth, wherever found and by whom-
soever taught.

The question arises, how do we know truth,
what is the source of the knowledge of truth'?
Every religion, it will be contended, accepts truth
as binding ; but how can truth be known except
from some authoritative scripture ? Our reply is,
the Brahmo Samaj derives its revelation from the
fountain source whence all sages and scriptures-
have drawn their inspiration. Whence did the
Vedas and the Bibles receive their truth ? God is
the ultimate source of all truth and religi n.

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ. 61

Every religion professes to have received its re-
velation from God. And the Brahmo Samaj goes
-direct to that Fountain head whence the rishis and
prophets, Jesus and Mahommad received the re-
velations recorded in the so-called scriptures.

But while revelation, according to their fol- Bevelation ft
lowers, is a particular historical incident, to the perennial

1 *.-.> TIY*ft4WVl

Brahmo it is a perennial process. It is not that
God spoke on the top of Sinai, or on the bank
vof the Saraswati only, to a Jesus or a Mahommad
alone, and ever since has been silent Revelation
is ever-present, ever-progressive. God speaks to
all who seek Him in sincerity of heart and
purity of mind. The most sacred shrine of God
is in the soul of man. Reason and conscience and
the spiritual sense are the channels through which
He reveals Himself constantly to His children.
Religion is not based on the external authority of
any man or book ; the eternal foundation of
religion is the spiritual nature of man. Churches
may decay, scriptures may become antiquated ;
so long as man is man, there shall be religion-
eternal guarantee of faith is in man's natural
hankering after God.

The Brahmo Samaj, however, does not deny Difficulties

of an naf lu*

the inspiration of the scriptures of historical ble and ex-
religion. It does not say that the Vedas, or the 8 C !JfptSre.
Bible, or the Quoran, or other scriptures do not
contain God's revelation. Only it does not confine
revelation to one particular book or nation, pro-
phet or church ; it avers that scripture is not the

62 THE RELIGION" OF THE BBAHMC) SAM^J.

Conflict with

progressive

science.

Conflict of
scriptures.

The Brahmo
Samaj wel-
comes truth
from all
sources.

foundation of truth, but .truth the test of scripture.
Scripture does not make truth, but truth makes
scripture. .The older religions claim that their
particular book is the only infallible exclusive,
record of truth. Whatever is written in it i&

' - : . ' : " . - - '-,'% I

truth, and whatever is not sanctioned by. it i&
untruth. This assumption has landed the religious
world in insurmountable difficulties. In the first
place, religion has been brought into conflict with
, science and the progressive knowledge of humanity*
Many things found in the so-called scriptures and
accepted as infalliable relevations are how found
to be untenable. In the second place, the profes-
sors of each religion claim their particular 'book
to be the one 'Holy Writ* to the exclusion of

T " ---. .

either books ancl regard implicit faith in it a&
essential to salvation. Here is a, veritable dilemma*
If the seeker after truth can believe in one scrip-
ture, why should he not believe in another? The
Bible has as much claim to be regarded as the
Infallible Revelation as the Vedas or the Quoran
or the scripture of any other religious body. Thu&
arises the modern conflict of the scriptures. And
if the honest and unbiased inquirer is to come ta
a conclusion, he must at last fall back on his
God-given faculties of reason, conscience and the
spiritual sense, '., which thus become the ultimate
witnesses to truth. .,

With truth as the final touchstone, the Brahmo
Samaj looks .with equal regard upon the scriptures
of all religions, nations and ages as the accuniu-

THE RELIGION OF THE BKAHMO SAMAJ. 63

^treasures of humanity. Whatever is truth,
ether it comes from east or west, past or
esent, is sacred to the Brahmo. To him there
)es not exist any conflict of science with religion,

of scripture with scripture. The marvellous
ogress of knowledge in modern times he wel-
>mes with sincere joy and confidence. To him
ery addition to man's knowledge, in whatever
jld it may be, is so much light thrown upon
od's ways, and it opens out a closer approach

His inner sanctuary. Similarly every scripture
7&ry book, sacred or secular, which is the fruit
: man's quest after truth, is a ray of light from

Iod, a fragment of the timeless, endless Revelation,
rhythm in the eternal Word, in the measure in
hich it proves helpful to him in his upward
arch towards perfection.
The scripture of the Brahmo Sarnaj is thus not Th e Scrip-

snfined within the boundary or in the history of tare of the

. . J Brahma*

e country ; it is not written in one language,

|ut is to be found in the language and dialect of
1 races and nations. Wherever man has searched
od, read His Divine purpose in nature and history
tened to his message in the depths of the soul
d tried to spell out the mysteries of his experi-
ce in tones of wonder and admiration, there is the
ipture of the Brahmo. It is ancient and world-wide ;
i is modern and progressive. The Brahmo Samaj
as entered into the heritage of the spiritual legacy
all nations and ages. In its quest after truth^
knows no limitations of age, clime, colour, race*

-64 THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMA J.

nationality or language. The God of the Brahi
Samaj is universal, its Scripture is universal^
Hevelation is universal, ever-progressive, ev
^present.

CHAPTER IX-

C o-;truction
* n i

The Social Ideal of the Brahmo Samaj.

A notewothy feature of the religion of the Brahmo Brahmoisni
imaj in its social deal. It is not merely a relgion of re ii g ion.
e closet to be believed in and cherished by the indivi-

al in private, but it is a faith which permeates

*. ' *

d moulds his entire being, transforming his home,
s surroundings, his social relations. Thus the
rahmo Samaj has developed a social ideal, which

a country like India, with its rigid system of
ste distinctions, its seclusion of women, has. come
sharp collision with the existing order of things

d attracted prominent attention. A few words

/

out the social ideal of the Brahmo Samaj will,

erefore, be not out of plaoe. That ideal follows

rectly and logically from the Brahmo conception
God and His relation to man. From One God
Father of all, follows necessarily one humanity

thout any distinction of caste, colour, or sex.
If God is our Father, all human beings stand
us related as brethren. There can thus be no
x "ority or inferiority based on race, colour or

aste. Behind all inequalities of talent, culture,
alth and position, there is the fundamental

quality of men as the children of God. And any
tinction of superiority or inferiority among men

s men, inherent in their birth, 'is a sin before
od, the Father of all. Every vestige of such

pprobrious distinction in human society, is there-

QneGpdop*
humanity. .

66

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

Pnndamen-
,tal equality
<rf indivi-
duals and

Classes.

^Necessity of
emphasis on
the social
equality of
men.

fore, absolutely interdicted by the Brahmo Samaj,
It does not countenance any pretensions, in form
or spirit, to inherent superiority, in individuals, com-
munities or races. * The social ideal of the Brahmo
Samaj, is therefore, one of perfect equality and fra-
ternity between man and man, class and class. The
Brahmo Samaj does not recognise any superior
born spiritual caste. All men have a spiritual
nature and are capable of infinite development
intellectually, morally and spiritually. If we find
apparent inequalities among them as they are at
present, that is largely due to generations and
centuries of unequal advantages and unjust laws.
Perpetuation of, and even connivance at, such
inequalities and injustices the Brahmo Samaj looks
upon as sinful. To the Brahmo every human being,
be he a Pariah or a Brahmin, be he a Mahom-
madan or a Hindu, be he a Negro with dark skin
or a European of the purest white, is a brother. So
long as we do not look upon and treat all men as our
brethren, we have no right to call God our 'Father*.

The Brahmo Samaj has found it supremely
necessary to insist upon this principle of the
equality and fraternity of men, because in India
the caste feeling has been specially strong and
grossly unjust. Here society has been honey-
combed with innumerable distinctions of caste, sub-
caste, sect, sub-sect and so on, among whom the
most ordinary .amenities of life are forbidden. The
sense of human kinship has been rendered well-
nigh impossible in the midst of these innumerable^
artificial and unnatural distinctions. It is, there_

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

67

fore, of the utmost importance that the divine
mnciple of. the brotherhood of humanity should
>e sacredly cherished and guarded in the Church
Jniversal.

Some apologists have tried to defend Indian
jaste on the plea that there must always remain
lifferences between man and man, that even in
European societies there are distinctions of classes.
It is not denied that there will remain inequalities
between man and man, but these inequalities must
not be stereotyped and made the foundations of
ultimate and insuperable barriers against mutual
fellowship. If there are class distinctions and
prejudices in European society, they are to be
deplored and not glorified. The European classes,
for one thing, are not permanent and isurmount-
able social bariers. They are not based on birth
so much as on merit and culture. The evil of the
Indian caste system is that it permanently prints
the stamp of ignominy on the individual at .his
birth ; it leaves no room or scope for individual
merit and effort. The European classes are not
hereditary disqualifications against individual dis-
tinction and elevation in social rank. In spite of
all social prejudices, it is still left open to an
individual to make his way to the highest rung of
the social ladder. And,, in fact, it has been pos-
sible for hundreds of men and women born in the
lowest ranks of society to work their way to the
highest places of honour and recognition. Indian
caste, on the other hand, is a systematic, hereditary
fixture of social inequalities and disabilities, which

Difference
between clasfe
distinctions *
and caste.

Glass dis-
tinctions
based on
worth and
culture andL
movable.

Caste a here-
ditary and
inseperabfe
barrier.

68 THE RELIGION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

unlawfully and, worst of all, in the name
religion denies the elementary rights of man
the millions of God's children and renders a
crossing of the boundary-line utterly impossibl
Against these unjust, unnatural, hereditary ign
minies, disabilities and barriers, which are a cur
.;." to society and an abomination in the eye of (

the Brahmo Samaj has declared and must wa
uncompromising war.

It is this ideal of social equality that 1
deliverance aroused the keenest opposition against the Brah

Samaj. The chief cause of the wrath of orthodoj
ciaes. Hinduism against the Brahmo Samaj is its.uncoi

promising war against the caste system,
the Brahmo Samaj . would say nothinj
against caste distinctions, Hindu society migl
perhaps tolerate its monotheistic theology ar
worship. But the Brahmo Samaj has rightly mac
the abolition of caste one of its fundaments!
principles. In spite of the great offence to orthx
doxy caused by it and the tremendous oppositioj
of the many vested interests and rooted prejudice
aroused by it, the Brahmo Samaj has bold!
declared, and steadfastly adhered to, the princip]
of the brotherhood of humanity. The uplifting o
the so-called low castes of India has been one c
its chief glories. It goes to the down-trodde
millions who have been for centuries despised an
trampled upon by the higher classes and deniel
the most elementary social privileges, including th
light of knowledge, and whose very touch has
come to be. pollution, and offers them t&e ng.b

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ 69

ind of fellowship. It brings a message of deli-
rance a veritable gospel to the depressed,
>wn-trodden millions of India after centuries of
ueltyranny and pitiful degradation.
The same ideal of quality has been applied by constitution

,

e Brahmo Samaj to womankind with consequen- * W01 ?j e ij
is of even greater importance. Whatever might ageBinIaU&
ive been the position of women and there are
nmistakable indications of its having been pretty
gh in the early days of Hindu civilisation, they,
iring the last many centuries, have had to lead
i existence of the utmost hardship and degra-
,tion in India. They had no education, they
,ve been considered eligible for no religious
ture except that of obeying their husbands. For
es they have been shut up in the seclusion of
e screen and denied even the light of the heavens
d fresh air. Spiritually, intellectually and even
hysically the existence of women in India has
een marked by subjection to shameful wrong and
oef ul misery. In a way they have been supposed
[o live merely for the pleasure and advantage of
en. It is difficult to repress indignation when one
eads the descriptions of the nature of woman even
such avowedly religious books as the Maha-
harata. In many places they are described as
he vilest of creatures, utterly sensual and beyond
orrection, and to be kept out of mischief only
nder the surveillance of male relations, father,
usband or son.

The Brahmo Samaj with its spiritual conception Elevation of
f human nature declared, early in its history, the

70 THE RELIGION OF THE BRaHMO SA.MAJ.

e< l ua ^ rights of men and women, and stead^
carried out that ideal of equality in every detail
social life. One by one it has rooted out
degrading and unjust institutions and custom
which pressed hard upon women, removed tl
disabilities under which they had to live a
opened to them the gates of knowledge, soci
liberty, religious culture. It has torn up t
purdah, taken out women confined in darkne
into the air and light of the heavens and, extendi
to them the benefits of education and blessings
religion, it makes them share :in all the rights a
privileges of social life. This is another of t
reforms for which the Brahmo Samaj has had 1
encounter great opposition and incur much dis
pleasure and unpopularity. It has been called, mor
in derision than in commendation, the female emai
cipation movement. There can be no doubt that
has wrought a real "emancipation". With referenc
to this, one might truly say, "those who sat in dart
ness saw light, the fetters of ages were removed."
Similarly in every possible domestic and socii
concern the Brahmo Samaj has been solemnly an
steadfastly endeavouring to apply the principl
of justice and righteousness. It seeks to establis
the kingdom of God in the heart and home of th
ordinary men and women. Its religion is not fo
the chosen few nor for the quite of the hermitage
The Brahmo Samaj would, under the providenc
of God, reconstruct society on the f oundatio
of justice, rightoiisness and love.

CHAPTER X.

Brahmo
Samaj.

The Brahmo Samaj at Work.

In the foregoing chapters we have tried to set The unique
rth the fundamental principle of the Brahmo

imaj. The ideas are not perhaps altogether new.

, , , , . , j . . .

ut the strict and uncompromising manner in

lich the Brahmo Samaj has applied them to life

arks a novel and exceedingly interesting ex-

riment, not only in India but in the religious

story of the world ; and if it succeeds in its

ission, it will have solved a world-problem. A uni-

rsal religion without any exclusive infallible

ripture or infallible prophet has been well-nigh

msidered an impossibility. It has been the

earn of seers and poets and the cherised

eal of schools 'of philosophy ; but as a

actical, soul-satisfying religion for ordinary

en and women, &it has ibeen scouted by

te wise and the devot alike. Indeed, there is

uch in the religious history of the world to

stify this scepticism. Again and again in the The obstacles

jligious history of the world, we find instances of in its

religion pure and perfect as it emerged from the

>untain-head, like the crystal water of a moun-

in spring, but anon sullied foul with all sorts of

sctarian, clannish, tribal prejudices, superstitions

id narrownesses in the hands of its followers. In

idia, especially, the fate of pure spiritual,

72 THE SEUQION OP THE BRAHMO SAMAJ.

universal religion has been disastrous and it
prospect gloomy. Idolatry, infallible scriptur
infallible guru and caste have come to be believe
to be the essentials of religion, at least since tt
post-Buddhistic age. The greatest theologian
most rationalistic philosophers and devoute;
saints have yielded before these great national evi]
It looks a presumptuous effort, indeed, on the pai
of the Brahmo Sarnaj to hope to establish tb
pure spiritual worship of One True God, th

'The stead- Father of ' all. in a land where the name of th
'fast and un- , . , . T . . , , -. .

-compro- gods is legion and society is honeycombed in

-S^thef r S innumerable castes, sub-castes, sects and sub-sect
Brahmo The Brahmo Samaj, however, has steadily set i

*kS JLYlfi 3.1

face against all obstacles and has stood firmly 1
its fundamental principle of One God, on
humanity. In the face of the many plausib
arguments defending or condoning ido worsh
the Brahmo Samaj has sternly forsworn th
pernicious practice. Every vestige of, or associatic
with, idolatry has been repudiated by the Brahm
Samaj. The Brahmo must thoroughly eradica

Its SUCCeBSeS. . i T j i vc i - ^ ' J i

from his individual lire, his home and h

social dealings. From birth to death he mu

worship the One Infinite God in spirit an

in truth and Him alone he must serv

Under the auspices of the Brahmo Samaj, t

principle and practice of the spiritual worship

the Spirit-God have become quite popular in t

Numerous country at large, where already there arc hundre

Thastic ^ o C ongregrations for the worship of one True Gc

tions. And the spiritual potency of such worship h

THE RELIGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ. 73

?en illustrated in such lives as those of the late
aharshi Debendranath Tagore, Keshub Chandra
en, Ananda Mohun Bose and others.

Equally strenuous and unsophisticated has been
e attitude of the Brahmo Samaj against caste
stinctions. The Brahmo Stamaj has recognised
y distinctions of colour, race, caste or nationality.
Within the fold of the Brahmo Samaj, there may

and are, men of all castes from the highest
rahmin to the lowest Sudra. The Brahmo Samaj

united all the races of India. A representative
rahmo assembly is a unique sight, bringing to-
ether all the races and creeds, Hindus, Mahom-
edans, Christians. Jews, Bengalis, Mahratfcas,
elugus, Tamils, Canarese, Malayalis, Punjabis,
ebaris, Uriyas and Assamese in one fraternal
llowship. In the Brahmo Samaj, not only have
ter-marriages among the various castes and sub-
astes become common but there have been many
ter-provincial and inter-racial marriages as well,
n the Brahmo Samaj, there is no "high" or "low/'
1 are equally the children of God.

The Brahmo Samaj has likewise done away with
1 the religious and social inequalities and disabi-
ties to which women have been subjected in almost
1 countries and specially in India. The Brahmo
amaj has given the fullest and freest liberty to
omen to develop their intellectual, . moral and
nritual life. It invites and eucourages women to
lare all the rights and privileges of the higher
fe equally with men. It does not reserve any
Messing of life as the monopoly of ' men, nor in>

A consider-
able Theistic
community
recognising
no distine-
tion of caste
or colour.

Intellectual
and spiritua
progress of 1
women.

74 THE RELIGION OF THE BRA HMO YS AM A J

Practical So-
cial Reform.

Wide influ-
ence of the
Brahmo
Sanmj.

The hostility
of orthodoxy

pose any law or ordinance on women which
would hot insist on in the case of men as. we
Brahmo ladies have distinguished themselves in un
versity examinations, in literature, in the arts an
useful professions. They enjoy equal rights wi<
men in church government and they have acquitte
themselves creditably as religious ministers an
preachers. In the duties and obligations of matr
monial life, the Brahmo Samaj assigns the san
place to men as to women. It has abolished chi
marriage and given perfect liberty to widows
remarry if they like. Marriage, in the Brahn
Samaj, is a solemn, sacred ordinance in which m<
and women who have attained the age of discr
tiori can alone participate out of their own unfe
tered free choice.

Thus the Brahmo Samaj seeks to form a re
gious community on the broadest and sure
foundation of love and righteousness. During t
few decades of its existence, it has succeeded
forming the nucleus of such a community in eve
province of India. Among the educated class
they are thousands who theoretically approve
and accept the religious and social ideals of t
Samaj. But the strict and uncompromising demai
practically to eschew idolatry, caste and the oth
superstitions and evil practices of current Hinduis
has proved too great an ordeal for many. T
Brahmo Samaj, like every reforming religion, \h
incurred the displeasure of current orthodox
The acceptance of the religion of the Brahn
Samaj is inevitably followed by social persecute

THE EEMGION OF THE BRAHMO SAMAJ. 75

and. social
persecution*

|nd ostracism and means the snapping of many
|weet and sacred ties of natural relationship. It is,
icrefore, only the strongest and bravest men ins-
pired by a sacred responsibility to truth and sup-
)orted by a profund faith in God that can succes-
[ully face the ordeal. The almost impregnable
stronghold of the Indmn caste system and the per-
fection of priestly orjjinisation under it have made
rork of the Brahmo Sanaa j extremely difficult.
r et the progress already made is by no means Hopeful pre-
Hsappointing. The Brahmo Samaj has found a sure
Eoothold in every important race of Hindustan. It ing.
las received very cordial and respectful
ippreciation in Europe and America. It has
3reated a rich and growing religious and de-
votional literature in all the principal vernaculars
India. And finally it has penetrated and per-
leated, coloured and tinged, the thought and
fe of the entire educated community. The ulti-
[mate triumph of the religion of the Brahmo Samaj
is, under God, only a question of time.

744-28T

BL 1235 Sarfcer, _

S25 Hemchandra* ..
^ The .-religion of

Brahmo Samaj.

.

BBfflEJW OCT 7 1969

11 IF

BL 1235

,325 Hefflchandra*

The religion of
Sama ,

THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO