Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) was one of the makers of modem India. He is
generally hailed as "the father of Modern India". Though Roy was modernist in his
approach, he always tried to link modernity with tradition. He attempted the creative
combination of secularism and spirituality, of Western and Eastern philosophy. His
attitude towards religion was eclectic. He wanted to present the concept of universal ,
religion by combining the best features of all leading religions of the world.
ROY AS A RELIGIOUS REFORMER
A review and revaluation of religion was Roy's primary concern. He was of the
opinion that rationality and modernity needed to be introduced in the field of
religion and that "irrational religion" was at the root of many social evils. The sociopolitical
progress of this country, according to him, depended mainly on the
'successful revolution in the religious thought and behaviour. He was interested not
only in reforming the Hindu religion, but also tried to remove the discrepancies
among the various religions of the world. He undertook a serious study of
comparative religions and realised in due course that true Hinduism, true Islam and
true Christianity are not fundamentally different from each other. He hoped that the
universal religion for mankind could be established by combining the best elements
of all religions. This concept of universal religion meant not merely religious
tolerance, but also transcending all the sectarian barriers of separate religion. Roy,
thus attempted a spiritual synthesis, stressing the unity of all religious experience. Ht
became a confirmed monotheist. In 1828 he established the Brahmo Samaj. The
Samaj acted as a forum for religious and philosophical contemplation and
discussion. Roy's criticism of religious antagonised the priestly classes of all
organised religions. Time has, however, proved beyond doubt the relevance or Roy's
thoughts and deeds.
Influences that Shaped Him
Besides Bengali and Sanskrit, Roy had mastered Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek,
Latin and 17 other leading languages spoken in the world. Roy's familiarity with
such diverse languages, exposed him to a va'riety of cultural, philosophical and
/religious experiences. He studied Islam thoroughly. The rationality and the logical
consistency of Arabic literature in general and the mutajjil in particular impressed
Roy greatly. The Sufi poets like Saddi and Haafiz made a deep impact on Roy's
mind. The Quaranic concept of Tauhid or Unity of God fascinated Roy.
Thus, in this context, when Roy examined the Hindu religious texts and practices, he
was greatly disturbed. He found polytheism, idolatory and irrational superstitions
absolutely intolerable. He decided to fight against these age-old evils.
A Sanskrit scholar, Ram Mohan had studied the Hindu scriptures in depth and thus
he got the inspiration to free the orthodox Hinduism from its obscurantist elements.
Roy also had .studied the teachings of the Buddha Dhamma. It is said that in the
course of his travels he reached Tibet. There he was pained to see how the principles
of Buddhism were blatantly violated and how idol-worship, which had no place in
the Dhamma of Lord Buddha, had come to be accepted. He str.ongly criticised the
practices.
As a Dewan in the revenue department, when the Raja was required to go to
Rangpur, he got an opportunity to study the Tantrik literature as well as the Jaina's
Kalpasutras and other scriptures. He also mastered the English language and
acquainted himself with political developments and ideas like rationalism and
liberation in England and Europe. The knowledge of English not only facilitated
Roy's contacts with Englishmen but also opened up a whole new world to him. In
Roy's own words, he now gave up his initial prejudices against the British and
realized that it was better to seek help from these enlightened rulers in ameliorating
the condition of the ignorant and superstitious masses. He became a strong advocate
of English education and a supporter of British rule.
Roy admired the Bible as much as he did the Vedanta and the Quran. Many of his
critics thought that two major features of Roy's Brahmo Samaj, namely, the
opposition to idol-worship, and the practice of collective prayer were borrowed from
Christianity. Roy was charged of Christianising Hindustan in a surreptitious manner.
It is true that Roy advised Indians to imbibe Christ's ethical teachings. Roy himself
admitted, "I found the doctrine of Christ more conductive to moral principles and
better adopted for the use of rational beings than any other which have come to my
knowledge." He also compiled "The Precepts of Jesus" with a view to proving how
the teachings of Christ could be better adapted to rational man's use. At the same
time it has to be noted that he was no blind admirer of the Christian faith. He
rejected the doctrine of Christ's divinity (arguing that if Christ is divine, so is Rama)
and the doctrine of Trinity preached by the missionaries.
From what has been said above, it should be clear that it is unfair to charge Roy
with seeking to Christianise 'rlduism. Rather it was Roy's ardent desire to revive
Hinduism in its pristine, pure and universal form. He pleaded for an Advaita
Political Reform in philosophy which rejected caste, idolatory and superst~ousri tes and rituals.
the 19th Century
Thvs, Roy was someone who had gone beyond narrow divisions of religious faiths.
He embraced all that was the most valuable and the most inspiring in Hinduism,
Christianity and Islam.
Reinterpreting Hinduism
Roy devoted all his energies to fighting sectarianism and other medieval tendencies
prevailing in the Hindu society, such as polytheism, idolatory and superstitions. He
was a firm believer of the Advaita philosophy which left no scope for such
tendencies. Roy was quite sure that unless the Hindu society underwent a religious
and social transformation, it would not become fit for political progress. According
to him, the then prevailing religious system of the Hindus was ill-suited for the ,
promotion of their political interests. The multitude of religious rites and ceremonies
and the unnatural distinctions of caste and laws of purification, Roy argued, had
deprived the Hindus of any kind of common political feeling. Hindus must accept
some changes in their religion at least for the sake of their political advantage and
social comfort. Reinterpretation of Hinduism, to Roy, was thus the starting point for
the programme of socio-political reform. Roy sought to combine the deep
experiences of spiritual life with the basic principle of social democracy. He
denounced all superstitions and the evil practices based on them because he was
convinced that these longstanding customary practices really did not form the core of
their religious faith. They, in fact, had no place or support in the religious texts of
the Hindus. Roy wanted to draw the attention of his countrymen to the ancient
purity of their religion. To him, this purity was well reflected in the Vedas and the
Upanishads.
In order to prove that blind faith and superstitious beliefs and practices had no basis
in the pure Hindu religion, Roy undertook the difficult task of translating the
Upanishads into English and Bengali. He gave elaborate notes and comments with
these translations and distributed them free of cost amongst the people. -
At the age of 16, Roy wrote a book challenging the validity of the practice of idolworship,
which according to him was the root cause of many other social evils. It led
to the multiplication of deities and aiso a multitude of modes of worship. This, in
turn, had resulted in dividing the society into innumerable castes and groups, each
worshiping an idol different from others. The process of division and subdivision was
unending. Roy considered idolatory to be opposed to reason and common sense.
Besides, it had no sanction in the ancient religious texts. Roy preached monotheism
and a collective prayer from the platform of the Brahmo Samaj.
Roy fought against the superstitions which had resulted in evolving many inhuman
and cruel customs and traditions in Hindu society. He tried. to convince the people
that the superstitions had nothing to do with the teachings of original Hinduism.
Roy not only preached but also practised what he preached. Travelling across the
ocean was considered to be a sin by the orthodox Hindus. Roy was the first Hindu
to break this superstition. He himself undertook overseas travel. This courage of
conviction on his part made Roy's efforts more effective.
1
generally hailed as "the father of Modern India". Though Roy was modernist in his
approach, he always tried to link modernity with tradition. He attempted the creative
combination of secularism and spirituality, of Western and Eastern philosophy. His
attitude towards religion was eclectic. He wanted to present the concept of universal ,
religion by combining the best features of all leading religions of the world.
ROY AS A RELIGIOUS REFORMER
A review and revaluation of religion was Roy's primary concern. He was of the
opinion that rationality and modernity needed to be introduced in the field of
religion and that "irrational religion" was at the root of many social evils. The sociopolitical
progress of this country, according to him, depended mainly on the
'successful revolution in the religious thought and behaviour. He was interested not
only in reforming the Hindu religion, but also tried to remove the discrepancies
among the various religions of the world. He undertook a serious study of
comparative religions and realised in due course that true Hinduism, true Islam and
true Christianity are not fundamentally different from each other. He hoped that the
universal religion for mankind could be established by combining the best elements
of all religions. This concept of universal religion meant not merely religious
tolerance, but also transcending all the sectarian barriers of separate religion. Roy,
thus attempted a spiritual synthesis, stressing the unity of all religious experience. Ht
became a confirmed monotheist. In 1828 he established the Brahmo Samaj. The
Samaj acted as a forum for religious and philosophical contemplation and
discussion. Roy's criticism of religious antagonised the priestly classes of all
organised religions. Time has, however, proved beyond doubt the relevance or Roy's
thoughts and deeds.
Influences that Shaped Him
Besides Bengali and Sanskrit, Roy had mastered Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, Greek,
Latin and 17 other leading languages spoken in the world. Roy's familiarity with
such diverse languages, exposed him to a va'riety of cultural, philosophical and
/religious experiences. He studied Islam thoroughly. The rationality and the logical
consistency of Arabic literature in general and the mutajjil in particular impressed
Roy greatly. The Sufi poets like Saddi and Haafiz made a deep impact on Roy's
mind. The Quaranic concept of Tauhid or Unity of God fascinated Roy.
Thus, in this context, when Roy examined the Hindu religious texts and practices, he
was greatly disturbed. He found polytheism, idolatory and irrational superstitions
absolutely intolerable. He decided to fight against these age-old evils.
A Sanskrit scholar, Ram Mohan had studied the Hindu scriptures in depth and thus
he got the inspiration to free the orthodox Hinduism from its obscurantist elements.
Roy also had .studied the teachings of the Buddha Dhamma. It is said that in the
course of his travels he reached Tibet. There he was pained to see how the principles
of Buddhism were blatantly violated and how idol-worship, which had no place in
the Dhamma of Lord Buddha, had come to be accepted. He str.ongly criticised the
practices.
As a Dewan in the revenue department, when the Raja was required to go to
Rangpur, he got an opportunity to study the Tantrik literature as well as the Jaina's
Kalpasutras and other scriptures. He also mastered the English language and
acquainted himself with political developments and ideas like rationalism and
liberation in England and Europe. The knowledge of English not only facilitated
Roy's contacts with Englishmen but also opened up a whole new world to him. In
Roy's own words, he now gave up his initial prejudices against the British and
realized that it was better to seek help from these enlightened rulers in ameliorating
the condition of the ignorant and superstitious masses. He became a strong advocate
of English education and a supporter of British rule.
Roy admired the Bible as much as he did the Vedanta and the Quran. Many of his
critics thought that two major features of Roy's Brahmo Samaj, namely, the
opposition to idol-worship, and the practice of collective prayer were borrowed from
Christianity. Roy was charged of Christianising Hindustan in a surreptitious manner.
It is true that Roy advised Indians to imbibe Christ's ethical teachings. Roy himself
admitted, "I found the doctrine of Christ more conductive to moral principles and
better adopted for the use of rational beings than any other which have come to my
knowledge." He also compiled "The Precepts of Jesus" with a view to proving how
the teachings of Christ could be better adapted to rational man's use. At the same
time it has to be noted that he was no blind admirer of the Christian faith. He
rejected the doctrine of Christ's divinity (arguing that if Christ is divine, so is Rama)
and the doctrine of Trinity preached by the missionaries.
From what has been said above, it should be clear that it is unfair to charge Roy
with seeking to Christianise 'rlduism. Rather it was Roy's ardent desire to revive
Hinduism in its pristine, pure and universal form. He pleaded for an Advaita
Political Reform in philosophy which rejected caste, idolatory and superst~ousri tes and rituals.
the 19th Century
Thvs, Roy was someone who had gone beyond narrow divisions of religious faiths.
He embraced all that was the most valuable and the most inspiring in Hinduism,
Christianity and Islam.
Reinterpreting Hinduism
Roy devoted all his energies to fighting sectarianism and other medieval tendencies
prevailing in the Hindu society, such as polytheism, idolatory and superstitions. He
was a firm believer of the Advaita philosophy which left no scope for such
tendencies. Roy was quite sure that unless the Hindu society underwent a religious
and social transformation, it would not become fit for political progress. According
to him, the then prevailing religious system of the Hindus was ill-suited for the ,
promotion of their political interests. The multitude of religious rites and ceremonies
and the unnatural distinctions of caste and laws of purification, Roy argued, had
deprived the Hindus of any kind of common political feeling. Hindus must accept
some changes in their religion at least for the sake of their political advantage and
social comfort. Reinterpretation of Hinduism, to Roy, was thus the starting point for
the programme of socio-political reform. Roy sought to combine the deep
experiences of spiritual life with the basic principle of social democracy. He
denounced all superstitions and the evil practices based on them because he was
convinced that these longstanding customary practices really did not form the core of
their religious faith. They, in fact, had no place or support in the religious texts of
the Hindus. Roy wanted to draw the attention of his countrymen to the ancient
purity of their religion. To him, this purity was well reflected in the Vedas and the
Upanishads.
In order to prove that blind faith and superstitious beliefs and practices had no basis
in the pure Hindu religion, Roy undertook the difficult task of translating the
Upanishads into English and Bengali. He gave elaborate notes and comments with
these translations and distributed them free of cost amongst the people. -
At the age of 16, Roy wrote a book challenging the validity of the practice of idolworship,
which according to him was the root cause of many other social evils. It led
to the multiplication of deities and aiso a multitude of modes of worship. This, in
turn, had resulted in dividing the society into innumerable castes and groups, each
worshiping an idol different from others. The process of division and subdivision was
unending. Roy considered idolatory to be opposed to reason and common sense.
Besides, it had no sanction in the ancient religious texts. Roy preached monotheism
and a collective prayer from the platform of the Brahmo Samaj.
Roy fought against the superstitions which had resulted in evolving many inhuman
and cruel customs and traditions in Hindu society. He tried. to convince the people
that the superstitions had nothing to do with the teachings of original Hinduism.
Roy not only preached but also practised what he preached. Travelling across the
ocean was considered to be a sin by the orthodox Hindus. Roy was the first Hindu
to break this superstition. He himself undertook overseas travel. This courage of
conviction on his part made Roy's efforts more effective.
1
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