BRĀHMA SAMĀJ

BRĀHMA SAMĀJ. — The name means “congregation of the Brahman,” that is, “of God.” From the attempt to reconcile Christianity with Hinduism there arose this B. S., founded by Ram Mohan Ray in Calcutta in 1828. Yet the frequent schisms and reforms to which it was subject demonstrate the failure of the vaunted syncretism. After the founder’s death, Brahmanical orthodoxy seemed to prevail under the new spiritual leader, Debendra Nath Tagore, who proclaimed the Veda the sole authority in matters of faith. But already by 1850 the Vedic theology was abandoned with the recognition that “nature and intuition are the sources of the knowledge of God. No text has authority.” This did not prevent a schism. In 1865 Keshab Chandra Sen left the B. S. to give greater impetus to social action and founded the “Bharat-varshiya B.” or “Indian B. S.,” while the original congregation became known as the “Adi (that is, original) B. S.” A second schism led to the founding of the “Sadharan (general) B. S.,” of a democratic character, decidedly opposed to the caste system and idolatrous practices. The new profession of faith begins with the acknowledgment that “God is the father of men, and all men are brothers.”